Castlevania: Magic of Friendship

by WiltedBloom2013

Rating: teen
Tags: Violence, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Human, Sweetie Belle, Thriller, Apple Bloom, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Scootaloo, Adventure, Crossover, Profanity, Gore
Length: 69812

A mysterious Castle... three little fillies... what could go wrong?!

The Cutie Mark Crusaders, a group of three fillies all searching for their Cutie Marks, end up in Europe as the infamous Castlevania returns for the third time in the Century. And it seems that only one of the three leave... the other two stay... and... well... stuff gets crazy!

Watch as Scootaloo explores the infamous castle with some help from a native and be ready for old friends with new tricks. As well as saving and loading... lots of saving and loading. Also dying and nonsense... the castle is a creature of Chaos afterall.

Castlevania X MLP:FiM crossover
Story was heavily inspired by Lucar's "A Sweetie Dreamland" and "Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers" so please give a fellow Nintendo Brony a check out :3

It's Castlevania, expect mentions of Blood, gore, and several swears. Also plenty of references(Not JoJo because I've never seen it so I can literally only reference what Castlevania referenced from it. Sorry not sorry.)

Published 2024-05-04 14:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-10-04 03:44:33 UTC

Prologue: Hidden Potentials

Europe, 1798... One year after Alucard saved Richter from Dracula's Castle

Scootaloo looked at her two friends with more uncertainty than ever before... It started as a normal day, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle were going over their plans to get their Cutie Marks. The three were going to try to get exploring Cutie Marks... but somehow entered a portal that took the three far away from Equestria... worlds away even.

Scootaloo was looking around the Castle as the trio of fillies walked through it's eerily hallow halls, all the blood and torture devices that were hooked up. Sweetie Belle was at the front of the group, simply because she wanted to be, it was well lit in the castle after all. Apple Bloom was slightly behind Sweetie Belle, standing to Sweetie's left. Scootaloo was all the way in the back of the trio, she really didn't like this place. "Are we sure this place is safe?" Scootaloo asked after seeing another torture device in this strange castle, but both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle groaned before Sweetie Belle replied, "YES! WE ARE SURE SCOOTALOO! WE HAVE FOUND NOTHING BUT THESE DEVICES!" causing Scootaloo to step back with her ears down. The trio kept going farther, and they reached the castle keep before long... but Scootaloo dashed off towards the entrance of the castle, not wanting to continue anymore.

Outside the castle walls...

Scootaloo dashed and dashed... she didn't stop dashing until she unintentionally dashed right into a tree... oof...

Where even was Scootaloo? This certainly wasn't Equestria but it also felt somewhat familiar, an odd familiar like... she is certain she's never been here yet... some part of her knows this place... it feels.

She got off the ground, castle staring ominessly at her in the background and the moon shining its light on her. She trotted forwards, hoping to find some familiar faces.

50 some-odd minutes later and a walk that felt like hell.

Okay, she had to admit she was probably not going to find any familiar faces... She already had gone through basically hell by walking this much, nearly being attacked by some bats along the way to this left behind shack... Scootaloo sat in the corner, staring a Rapier down but not picking it up considering it'd feel better as a weapon Rarity'd use...

... why is Scootaloo considering somepony having a weapon? And Rarity of all ponies?

She looked around and found some old books, now, normally she isn't one to read but... this seemed like a good time.

Using resources found within Castlevania, several people have come together to make what we consider an ultimate weapon we have dubbed "Fatal Wind" this special Rapier can attack much faster and if wielded by the right person, might even be useful for moving faster. Unforunately, we've lost a number of team members due to our trip into Castlevania and we can only hope that whoever reads this and finds Fatal Wind doesn't try to storm Castlevania alone.

As Scootaloo finished reading the page she looked towards Fatal Wind and... picked it up. She felt as if her hooves could move faster than she could move previous and this effect stayed even with the rapier stored away.

"So guess I'll be taking you Fatal Wind, might be fun using you." Scootaloo said aloud.

Then... there was a knock knock.

Back in Castlevania...

Apple Bloom groaned, finally noticing that Scootaloo's gone, "Sweetie, Scoots bailed on us," she said plain and simple, causing Sweetie Belle to groan as well. "Great, just fantastic," Sweetie Belle said in mild annoyance. The duo were climbing a large stair case with an ominess clock tower in the background, the stair case had a fancy looking red carpet and the fillies climbed on regardless.

At the top they found a room with many candles and a large table, a tall fanged creature standing before the fillies... Dracula Vlad Tepes. "Greetings, I have been expecting you two," Dracula said as he stepped closer to them, "I can sense something deep within you both," he added. Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked confused at that statement what did he mean by "something deep within you both" it just didn't make sense. But when the arrival of Dracula's right hand man, Death, Apple Bloom certainly felt... something... and by the sense of it... it wasn't nice.

Death carries his iconic scythe as he looked at the fillies before pointing at Apple Bloom, "You there, come here," he said as Apple Bloom trotted over causiously, "W-what's up?" Apple Bloom said with a tinge of fear. Death said not much but took Apple Bloom from Sweetie Belle, leaving the unicorn with the castle's lord.

Sweetie Belle looked at Dracula who simply lead her to thethrone room and had a seat where he drank a glass of wine before saying, "You and your friend have some potiental that needs to be coaxed out, Death took your friend to coax her's out, and I'll be the one to coax your's out."

Back with Scootaloo...

Scootaloo was roaming the streets of a ran-sacked town, what inhabiants are here looked at Scootaloo and ran inside, probably mistaking her for one of the many monsters that roam about outside the town. It wasn't long before Scootaloo found a tall bi-pedal creature in a blue outfit, "Excuse me, could you please tell me where I am?" Scootaloo asked the strange creature who immediately turned around holding... a cross almost ready to throw it... is it serious? "Uh... what are you doing?" Scootaloo asked the creature who just took a step back before another one of those creatures, except this time dressed in black with a white mane came out of hiding and put a limb in front of the blue clad one, "Calm Belmont, this creature means no harm," it, no, he said as the blue-clad one, Belmont, put the cross away.

Much time passed as Scootaloo introduced herself and got to know both Belmont and the other creature. Firstly, she learned that Belmont's full name is Richter Belmont, and secondly she learned the name of the black-clad one, it being Alucard. Scootaloo also spent time explaining her situation, "So... you and two others ended up in front of my father's castle, which you explored until you got to the top floor where you ran away from it," Alucard summerized as Scootaloo nodded with a "that's right" at the same time.

And so... an adventure unlike any Scootaloo had seen before starts...

Author's Note

Be ready, the prologue is split into two chapters, one for Europe/Castlevania and one for Equestria... because... why the fluff not?:derpytongue2:

Prologue 2: So what about Equestria?

Meanwhile... in the world of Equestria...

Discord had all the element bearers in one place, with "important" news to tell them. He gave them a brief summary of the last chapter... because... he could. None of the ponies thought he was serious even though he very much was. "Discord, how the hay are we supposed to believe that Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle ended up in a whole different world with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle apparently having some hidden potiental that needs coaxing out due to an entity literally called Death and a human with fangs?" Twilight asked giving Discord her most unamused face, however, Discord only gave her a chuckle in return.

"Believe me or not, doesn't matter because I can simply do... this," Discord stated as he snapped opening a portal which acted more like one way glass, ponies could watch but not interact and sure enough, Sweetie Belle was with Dracula still, Apple Bloom with Death, even having a cool new cloak, and Scootaloo with the Fatal Wind rapier and still with Alucard as they approach the castle's entrance at a fast pace. "Okay, kinda hard to not believe that!" Rainbow Dash said as Twilight sighed. "Oh. My. Goodness! It'slikethecreatorwasdirectlyinspiredbyanotherstorytomakethisonebutmakeitbasedoffofacompletelydifferentseriesjustbecausetheycan!" Pinkie said at literally a million miles an hour. "What darling?" Rarity asked getting a lackluster "What?" as a response from the pink party pony.

Fluttershy watched the portal in curiousity but also fear, "Couldn't Scootaloo have waited till the morning there to go into the big castle?" she asked being huddled next to Discord, who simply shakes his head no getting an unexpected glare from literally everypony, "What? I'm being realistic, waiting till morning would have been too long and even then, now that they are in the castle..." he paused as the portal showed the castle gates closing behind Scootaloo and Alucard, "They aren't leaving till they finish," he finished.

And now... you're caught up to how Equestria is doing. Well... except AJ who still wants to believe that Apple Bloom isn't going to be a villain.

Author's Note

Short chapter but this chapter is about the Equestria side of the spectrum, not the main plot so... obviously it'll be shorter but...

Don't worry, for those that want to, make a name for a castle that could fit the "Castlevania" style with fitting area names as well. And yes, Equestria will play a bigger role in the distant future :twilightsmile:

Chapter 1: The start of Castlevania

Area: Castle courtyard. Castlevania, Europe. Year:1798.

Scootaloo and Alucard looked behind themselves as the gate closed, "Well, looked like we're here for good now," Scootaloo said as she turned back to the familiar sight of the giant castle looming over her, moon shining from what she identified as the top floor. Alucard looked up in agreence, "We should be careful, if I know my father, he'll have Death take my equipment again," Alucard said aloud, leaving Scootaloo confused as she asked "Hold it, why would your father kill you just to start you over? Wouldn't it be easier for him to just kill you and be done with it?" to which Alucard shook his head as he explained what happened the last time he wandered into this place to stop it.

Area: Castle entrance.
Year: 1797.

Alucard walked into an area with many dead bodies on spears and spikes as he felt the familiar presence of Death, his father's right hand man "Alucard, you've come back..." Death said as Alucard nodded and replied with, "Death, so it's true, this really is my father's castle." Death laughed at Alucard's statement the area smelling of decay, "Yes it is, it is a shame you choose to side with those weakling humans, but I can't have you ruining everything, not at all," Death said as he raised a skeletal arm and all of Alucard's equipment flew off in red bubbles, made worse by the fact that Alucard's long sleep has stripped of his strength, making him the weakest he's ever been.

And so he had to progress now not just to figure out why his father's castle was back but also to recover his lost equipment.

Present day.

Scootaloo listened to that story in awe, as the moved through these early rooms they found some easy monsters like big bear-wolf like creatures called Wargs... yep.

Alucard noted how not on the castle's appearance, knowing all too well why the castle has changed... well... except for one thing... "That's a new painting, is that a friend of your's?" Alucard asked, pointing to the painting as it showed... SWEETIE BELLE?! "What the hay?! Why is there a painting how Sweetie Belle now?! That wasn't there before!" Scootaloo exclaimed aloud, basically giving Alucard all the information he needed as the continued down the hallway, eventually finding an exposed room where they stop.

"Hey! Why'd we-" Scootaloo was interrupted by Alucard holding a limb out, soon Death, with Apple Bloom on his back for some reason, and Scootaloo knew the problem, "Apple Bloom? What are you doing?" Scootaloo asked, causing AB to glare at her, "Ya mean afta ya bailed on meh and Sweetie? Findin' mah real talent, ah see ya found someone ta befriend who will help ya not be such a buckin' chicken!" Apple Bloom remarked in anger causing Scootaloo to flinch.

"Now calm down Apple Bloom, you can take your anger out later," Death said, prompting Apple Bloom to nod and return to glaring at Scootaloo. Alucard looked at Death with nothing but annoyence, "So, you've come back again, I assume this time you've put the work in to bring my father back instead of leaving it to Shaft?" He asked, to which Death nods and preforms the trick that stripped Alucard of his equipment... again... much to both his and Scootaloo's annoyence.

Apple Bloom laughed as she and Death vanished, leaving Scootaloo and Alucard with too many questions and practically zero answers, "One of your friends?" "Yep, that was Apple Bloom... what was she doing with Death though? Something's fishy, very fishy."

Equestria, Twilight's castle. Moments after Alucard's equipment was stolen.

All six of the ponies in the room were staring in confused awe at what Apple Bloom just... let happen."So... are we not gonna talk bout what we just watch?" Applejack asked, to which she was met with either silence or murmurs... make your own choice here.

Scootaloo, still with the Fatal Wind rapier unlike Alucard who has nothing, was leading the group as a skeleton with a sword, shield, and helmet got in the way, Scootaloo was too freightened to attack, where-as Alucard attacked by just... punching the thing which dropped a sword... fitting. Alucard picked it up and swung it, "Not good but it'll do, better than Red Rust anyways," he said not earning a glance from Scootaloo as she just knew "Don't question it."

And they entered a room with a decadhedron in it... apparently called a save room, supposedly interacting with the decadhedron revitualizes the 1 who interacted with it.

And so Scootaloo saved for the first time.

Chapter 2: What a chemical smell.

Area: Castle Entrance.
Year: 1798

Scootaloo awoke from the saved state feeling revitalized, "Celestia... that was weird," she said stretching her small wings noting how the decadhendion was not returning. Alucard nodded saying, "It usually is weird the first time you use it," swinging his sword again, as if getting a feel for it. Scootaloo and Alucard walked out the room but... Scootaloo had an odd feeling about a future encounter.

Alucard jumped up several platforms which were hard for Scootaloo to reach because of her shorter height, at the top was a living suit of armor wielding an axe which it throws like a boomerang... and somehow Scootaloo knew what it was despite this being the first one she encountered, "It's an Axe Armor! How do I know that?" She said before Alucard attacked it when it dropped a chestplate that looks nothing like the one it wore. Alucard picked it up and put it on under his shirt as he said, "Not sure, maybe it's an effect of the save room, sometimes when I awaken from it I feel as if I know things that I didn't know before such as my next opponent or something similar but it usually relates with how I 'died' at that point," without a hint of worry.

Then... Scootaloo racked her brain and remembered.

Scootaloo lays on her hooves, injured and about to die... she had an artificial horn on her head as a giant bat charged Alucard and killed him, Scootaloo tried to reach Alucard as he exploded into blood before she died as well.

"I remember... we were fighting a giant bat!" Scootaloo announced, "However both of us died during the fight which is probably how we ended up back at the save point," she added, giving Alucard time to think.

"The bat was either just a Giant Bat, Bat Company, or Darkwing Bat," Alucard said as he grabbed a relic he called the Cube of Zoe... right next to an artificial horn which Scootaloo grabbed. The horn automatically placed itself on her head and she used it to attack with Fatal Wind... oh yeah, this was the good stuff.

All the ponies (Except Pinkie Pie) were shocked at hearing what Scootaloo had said... she died but was restored at the save point? "No way, I refuse to believe that!" Twilight stated aloud only to be met by Pinkie Pie giggling and replying with, "Silly Twily! Of course it's true, how else do you except Scootaloo to have known the Axe Armor's name?" while also wearing a shirt with "Scootaloo rules" on it for some reason, the same shirt on Rainbow Dash oddly. "Come on Twi! Look at Scoots go!" Rainbow Dash said as Scootaloo and Alucard just finished fighting a literal floating eye ball which was called by Alucard "Peeking Eye"... fitting.

"I mean, darling, you must admit that some of the things Scootaloo is doing is dangerous, I mean... she's jumping without looking as pits appear," Rarity commented on as Scootaloo did just that considering it was a new path before returning with a helmet on her head... a leather helmet...

This isn't even going over how Fluttershy is with the fact that she's hiding behind her chair in fear due to the number of skeletons and monsters, "L-let me know when the monsters d-d-disappear..." the poor pegasus said as Scootaloo attacked a living painting next to a chemical station... the painting was of Apple Bloom... great. Alucard just burned the portrait by teleporting a small way and lifting his cape to shoot three fire balls at it. The ponies watch it an just get confused... again... except Pinkie Pie.

"Can that human do magic? Ah thought humans couldn't do magic as Twilah said," Applejack asked to which Discord nodded, "Yes, magic in this universe is different from our magic, however. Our magic comes pretty much purely from the inside, unless you're a Sweetie Belle who was sent to a universe of dreams..."

Sweetie Void suddenly sneezed, "Why do I feel like I was mentioned?" To which Classic Sonic shrugged.

"...but the magic Alucard did use was a kind of magic outside of what is 'inside' for us, as his magic is because he's a half vampire-" "Woo! Go Scootaloo use that fire!" Pinkie interrupted Discord as he looked back and saw Scootaloo using her artificial horn to use Alucard's fire spell. "Maybe something's deeper than I first thought."

Scootaloo was surprised as she used Hellfire... she was not expecting that, now all she needs is a cool cape to lift to shoot the fire balls from and it'll be complete, for now her horn will do. "Man, all these enemies are sure making this castle Tartarus to go through," Scootaloo said, well aware of her language and not feeling sorry for it as she smashed a vial containing... some pudding which Alucard picked up... how will pudding help exactly? Nevermind, no time to question it, the next room has some ominous smoke coming from it... "That's where the bat's located," Scootaloo announced as she stepped forward, she and Alucard had gone everywhere they can right now, they should have plenty of strength for this first boss... I mean... it's just a bat, how bad could it be? Bad enough to kill her and Alucard before.

Alucard walked in first, with Scootaloo following behind... the sounds of bats nearby being clear. Not far into the room as the bats awoke and started circling into one spot forming a Giant Bat which Scootaloo attacked using Fatal Wind, greatly damaging it. "Woah, okay. Note to self: Never lose Fatal Wind," Scootaloo announced as she jumped to the side to avoid an attack from the Giant Bat who was prompted attacked by Alucard and yet this bat wasn't letting up the charge forcing Alucard to move to the side, "Yeah and this bat's relentless," Alucard added when the bat stopped it floated in place for a moment giving Scootaloo a chance to attack it followed by Alucard using Hellfire to damage the Giant Bat.

The Giant Bat screeched at that, seemingly getting mad before it started spinning like a drill over Scootaloo's head, Scootaloo was lucky enough to notice the shadow and dodge out of the way of the first part, the drilling debris however... hit her a bit. "Okay, how was I expected to know debris would fly everywhere?" Scootaloo asked before Alucard attacked the bat who didn't react as much as before as if it get a tougher defense all of a sudden. "You weren't, that was why it got you, next time though, you'll know that there is debris," Alucard said as he jumped over the bat as it drilled towards him from the front before hitting the wall and drilling into it which also launches debris around however it isn't as deadly this time because... it doesn't exactly go anywhere.

Scootaloo used Hellfire while the bat was drilling into the wall and that seemingly finished the bat off as the bat broke apart and eventually left just a container of rainbow-esch water which Alucard calls "Life ups" which was grabbed before they left the room to go to the next, seemingly leaving the Chemical Labs. There were many more paintings of ponies Scootaloo knew and she called this place the Memory Museum. Not long later and Scootaloo found a save point and saved yet again.

Author's Note

Area(s) visited: Chemical Labs, Memory Museum.

Boss(s) beaten: Giant Bat.

Relics obtained: Cube of Zoe(Causes items to materialize), Artificial Horn(Allows Scootaloo long reach attacks.)

Yes. I did do that. The Giant Bat is based on both Darkwing Bat and Giant Bat from Harmony of Dissonance. The second phase is entirely unique though, combining the features of them more accurately. As for why the forward charge hits walls, it just makes sense instead of it just flying through it... plus these fights have to be reworked for a 3D space anyways so may as well start with the big ass bat. And yes, this story reference both A Sweetie Dreamland and Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers... why? You'll see later:pinkiecrazy:

Chapter 3: A Sweet(ie) Death

Sweetie Belle watched a screen with Dracula Vlad Tepes... noticing Dracula's anger, "They've made it too far!" he said in a fit of rage, but Sweetie Belle knew how to calm him down got ready to reply... and soon had her idea, "Worry bit, if Alucard is as bad as you say he is and Scootaloo ends up being as bad as she seems to be then we always have Death and Apple Bloom ready to attack," she said before taking a drink of a glass of blood wine(Why is Dracula giving that to a filly?!) as she stood up and enveloped her hoof in magic before slashing the air making a giant claw out of emerald magic aura slash the air.

Sweetie Belle smirked at the effects of her training. She was getting stronger by the minute, so go little Scootaloo, take as long as you need, Sweetie Belle will be ready for you.

Apple Bloom threw her new scythe towards a random human civilian... hitting dead on... it only took 50 attempts, about 100 less that it took her to learn how to summon scythes from thin air, which was 200 less than it took her to use the souls of the damned as weapons... so she's getting better... slowly. She heard Death say something about how "that pegasus beat Giant Bat" and she knew... Scootaloo was on her tail. Apple Bloom knew Scootaloo was on her tail. Apple Bloom knew, given a few hours which the various guardians should buy them, that she could become her very own Apple Death(luckily Sweetie Void wasn't coming here soon -Writer) if she wanted.

Apple Bloom took her scythe and got ready to do her own trick with it, she twirled the scythe around before bringing it to the ground causing a shockwave that'll be certain to give Alucard and Scootaloo a hard time when they make it to her and Death. She'll certainly give Scootaloo a hard time.

Sweetie Belle stood still as her body suddenly turned to bats and dashed forwards. When the bats finished, her body reformed... but Sweetie Belle is far from done learning new trick after new trick. She's already got hellfire, bat dash, her magic slash, her magic effect waves, and infernal darkness. Her next step will be transforming into her own version of the monster form but... Dracula says it'll come to her when she's hit enough. Makes sense.

Sweetie Belle went back and had a seat, taking a drink from her still unfinished glass of blood wine. Dracula sat proud of Sweetie Belle, knowing she would eventually surpass him, both in power and in goals.

Apple Bloom did a gesture with her hooves and summoned beams from nothing, smirking. "Ah think Scootaloo is gonna really love mah tricks... if she ain't dyin' that is," she said as she accidently hit the ground with her scythe, creating a tree of bones that sticks around for a few moments, dropping an exploding skull as it vanishes. The hay? Ah can do that? Apple Bloom thought as she remembered the tree... before she smirked... oh... she'll definitely have the chance to be her own kind of Apple Death...

Apple Bloom had a number of ideas she could use to create moves that'd make her so unique. Alucard will never see it coming. Of course not counting what Scootaloo can learn about it by dying.

Scootaloo walked out the save room and started walking through Memory Museum with Alucard... finding a boss room oddly close to the previous one, albeit they can go another way... but why not handle another boss right now?

Scootaloo walked into the boss room and saw Alucard on the ground on the verge of death, Apple Bloom and Death floating over him. "Alucard... ya were pathetically easy. Ah thought ya would be more of a challenge from what ah heard about ya," she said holding a scythe slashing Alucard who exploded into blood... Apple Bloom looked towards Scootaloo, who couldn't escape due to the shut door, and threw her scythe towards her.

Then everything went black.

"DON'T!" Scootaloo yelled, stopping Alucard from progressing into that room, "We are not ready for the fight in that room, from what I remember, Apple Bloom and Death await on the other side and as we are right now, we'd die without an ounce of effort on our part to defend ourselves," she added as Alucard started down the other path.

"Then we go the other way and return when we're stronger," Alucard said on the path, finding several rooms with enemies and a relic called the Fairy Tome which allowed Alucard to identify the names of enemies upon hitting them... although it might not help much cause it'll just give Scootaloo more names to remember... which will cause strain on the poor filly's mind.

A hallway... another hallway... another hallway... why are there so many back to back hallways?

Seriously, they've gone through 5 back-to-back hallways, why are there 5 of these? "This is driving me insane! Why the hay are there five hallways back to back!!" Scootaloo yelled aloud in angry annoyence

"The castle is a creature of chaos, it can take many incarnations," Alucard explained as he attacked an odd piece of floor, which showed another room that actually had a chest.

Scootaloo used her artifical horn to open the chest and got... "A mask?" She asked as she stared at the odd mask. Alucard looked at the various books in the room to find whatever the mask is, finding the Sword card in the process. Scootaloo put her new mask in the bag she all of a sudden had... just because. Well... more accurrately, because it just doesn't seem useful right now, sure, it gives some defense but... Scootaloo might not need that right now.

Scootaloo and Alucard kept going through room after room, even finding a few bonus Life ups, Alucard using a few of them to increase the amount of damage he can take... Scootaloo using just one and feeling stronger than before. She also broke a wall revealing... a salad? "Why was a salad in a wall?" She asked. Alucard chuckles at that.

"Nobody knows, many report finding what is called 'wall food' but it depends on who you ask, many say they find the aptly named 'wall chicken' such as myself.

Alucard used his sword to strike a wall... only to find a Wall Chicken... he will never understand his father's castle.

As Scootaloo heard that he(Yes, in this universe Scootaloo is genderfluid.) thought long and hard as he put the wall salad into his bag. Scootaloo looked towards Alucard and nodded... finding a save room not long later and saving again...

Author's Note

New relic(s): Fairy Tome(Allows Alucard to know who/what and enemy is just by hitting it.)

References: Mask(Tobenai's mask from Wiltedverse)

Yep, Scootaloo found the "Wall food" joke. And yes, many many references will be in this series just like in Castlevania:pinkiegasp:

As for why we had nothing from the ponies... uh... I forgot. Whoops. Also, here's why each character got each role:
Sweetie Belle(Dracula) - There was a story I read where Sweetie Belle became a vampire and I thought it was wonderful so I decided "why not?"
Apple Bloom(Death) - Reference to Apple Death from Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers.
Scootaloo(protag) - Because one of the CMC needed to be the hero.

As for the unique attacks Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom use, they are custom attacks I made up for this. To be specific, Dracula has the same moveset in most games so I gave him some of his Smash Ultimate attacks and Apple Bloom is using attacks from Aria of Sorrow with her eventually gaining some Dawn of Sorrow and SotN attacks(For SotN I mean from the second phase of Death.) And yes, no second boss this chapter but some more lore.

Chapter 4: A tortured memory...

Scootaloo awoke from the save point and immediately started racking her brain for a memory and it didn't take long for it to arrive.

The fight had been going well, Alucard's weapon he found had helped out greatly against the double doppelgangers, but it wasn't enough...

In a matter of moments, Alucard's doppleganger turned into a bat and rammed Alucard into a wall, damaging him greatly. Scootaloo's doppleganger used its rapier in a way she had never considered... a dash attack, catching her off guard and hurting her greatly, now both were on their last legs... having used their food earlier and not having any potions...

Alucard's scream is heard before she saw a rapier pierce her head and the blackness of the void...

Scootaloo looked at that memory... in fear... she and Alucard would have to fight two monsters at once... and the monsters look like them! The first chance when Scootaloo could, she would tell Alucard about the last death that happened!

Scootaloo walked out of the room, watching as Alucard killed a Sword Armor which dropped a stronger sword(different from the one in the memory) which was called "Damascus Sword" by Alucard, supposedly it's stronger than the nearby weapons because of its rarity. Before they moved forward, Scootaloo had to say what she had to... "Alucard, we'll be fighting our own dopplegangers together, that damascus sword will help as you seemed to have had a different weapon in my memory of that fight and we had managed to do good in the fight.

But we need to try and find more items around the castle... also, if it's alright, how do items in the castle heal our injuries?" Scootaloo asked that last question out of curiousity. Alucard racked his brain for a solid answer but he soon gave one, "Because Chaos hates things being unfair so it leaves potions and food around for explorers to heal themselves."

And that got the conversation to shut up... at least... about food.

Twilight's eye was twitching, "The food in that castle heals them..."

She definitely wasn't taking the new discovery well... probably on the verge of a meltdown.

Scootaloo used Fatal Wind against another armor enemy, this one wielding bombs... Bomber Armor? Scootaloo didn't know, but she did get lucky enough for a copper chestplate from it. Yeah. She equipped it and it didn't even show up on her but... well... she didn't care about it, she's had enough chaos this adventure.

When Scootaloo and Alucard came to a crossroad, they split up, Scootaloo being a bit ready to deal with enemies on her own.

Down Scootaloo's path, she had to fight a number of enemies ranging from Skeletons to Bomber Armors to some new enemies that looked like a giant flower that shot stone-like skulls... yeah, no. She attacked all the enemies in her path, making sure to get rid of the flower-like creature fast, but she didn't expect the flower to open up after getting hit where it shot some form of spore or seed.

None of the enemies Scootaloo had to fight if you just knew how to dodge the attacks with ease. Shame it'll be getting harder with many eneries in the same room.

At the end of the expedition, Scootaloo found a relic! He went and grabbed it, gaining a Dash Attack. She tried it out upon walking back into the previous room(Chaos respawns the enemies if she remembers Alucard saying) and tried it, moving an incredible distance and hurting the targetted monster a lot. Well... more than she usually does.

She went back and started down the path Alucard had gone down, finding plenty of monsters regardless. As she pierced and killed monsters in a rush to find Alucard... she kept feeling as if she was getting stronger... like... it felt like her attacks were doing more damage and she was taking less damage... she remembered Alucard mentioned something like this before the last time she tried to fight the dopplegangers.

Alucard swung his sword at another enemy, killing it and getting nothing. "Why do we fight these monsters if we don't get anything from some of them?" Scootaloo asked looking through a book she found at some point and nothing came up for some of the killed monsters. Alucard thought for a moment, "Well, sometimes when I kill a monster I feel stronger, as if I'm gaining a sort of 'experience point' from every kill," he said as he prepared to walk into the next room.

Scootaloo sat dumbfounded for a moment, "Sounds like a video game," she said before she went into the next room as well.

While she was reflecting, she had killed many enemies in her path and was still searching for Alucard... she did get a little distracted by some hidden rooms which had some Life ups and another object, one that looked like a heart, which she stored for now.

Soon enough, Scootaloo found Alucard... breaking a candle and somehow getting a stopwatch from it... what? Scootaloo just assumed that the stopwatch is one of the "subweapons" Alucard mentioned last run... Celestia, all the deaths are causing her to sound insane... when she gets home, she'll have to partake in therapy because she'll really need it.

Alucard put the stopwatch in his pocket as he looked back at Scootaloo, "The stopwatch might be helpful against the dopplegangers, now I need to collect hearts from the candles to make using it a bit more possible," he said as he started breaking all the candles, the lights not changing in brightness... this doesn't even surprise Scootaloo anymore...

Scootaloo waited as Alucard went and got heart after heart before she finally entered the room, Alucard entering just as the door closes behind them. Portraits line the walls except for a big metal gate which opens, layer after layer... until it opens, revealing an interdimensional portal where the dopplegangers of Scootaloo and Alucard appear and fall to the ground. Luckily Alucard has the stopwatch, making this "fight" not even much of a fight. They took care of the Alucard doppleganger first, not having much issue and as the stopwatch's effect faded, all that was left was the Scootaloo doppleganger... and guesses if this is a hard fight? ... Well it ain't. Another stopwatch and that fight took less effort than the Giant Bat... because of course it would.

Or so they'd think... no... after Scootaloo's doppleganger fell, both dopplegangers were merged together and now have full health... again... removing Alucard's subweapon and tossing it to the ground... Scootaloo rushes to pick it up and... something new occurs when she uses it... time is stopped, yes, but it doesn't last as long while dealing a sort of constant damage to all frozen enemies, albeit... she did end up slightly winded afterwards.

Scootaloo used Hellfire to strike the mega dopple as Alucard swung his sword several times at it. Repeat this with the occusional stopwatch from Scootaloo and this fight was actually difficult.

Another Life up(that they share) and Scootaloo presents the heart shaped object from before, which Alucard explained is a "Heart up" increasing the limit on the number of hearts you can hold.

Good to know. They walked through the rest of this area and even found two more secret rooms on the way which held better armor(A new helmet for Scootaloo that doesn't terrify her soul), and a better weapon for Alucard(Makes sense they'd hide this after the dopplegangers).

The eventually find a room with a very garden-like appearence, which Scootaloo calls The Ever Garden. They find more of the flower-like enemies(Called Stone Rose as Alucard cleared up) and some Manticores... off to a fun start already! They find many rooms with plants and even a flying suit of armor called "Flying Armor"(Real creative.) Its sword flies around it and sometimes charges towards the nearest hero. It didn't take long after that to find the save room and save again... ready for the challenges ahead.

Author's Note

Area(s) visited: The Ever Garden.

Relic(s) gotten: Dash boots(Allows the wear to Dash Attack.)

Current Subweapon: Stopwatch(Scootaloo)

Yes, I have decided that subweapons react differently depending on who uses them, hence why Alucard's holy water works differently from a Belmont's holy water. Also, yes, Alucard and Scootaloo can level up, felt I needed to mention it as, until this point, Scootaloo hadn't done much fighting but as Scootaloo learns more, she and Alucard will be spliting up more and more. As for the dash attack... I based it iff of a Castlevania fangame called Ponyvania where Pegsi have a dash attack for double tapping forward and then pressing attack. But I didn't want Scoots to have it by default just like how magic is locked behind the Artifical horn so... get ready for many dashes. Also, the ponies again! Who missed them, and yes. After the stopwatch thing, she had a meltdown.:twilightangry2:

Chapter 5: Thornweed galore!

Scootaloo awoke from the save room and left it, ready to deal with the challenges ahead... until she runs right into a plant and takes damage. Alucard crouches down and cuts the plant with his sword, "Be careful, Thornweeds are usually everywhere in this castle," he says and he moves about cutting the Thornweeds down to size.

Plants, none the less weeds, such an unexpected threat.

Alucard and Scootaloo eventually reach an area neither can get to, as it's too high up. "Looks like we need some form of double jump or flight to get up there..." Alucard said as Scootaloo tried her wings... to little success. Well... at least there's a path to the right and a path down but the down path is blocked by a glowing door so... it probably needs some form of rare object to open it... hold up, "That door wasn't there when I entered before with my friends, well... I guess now they're ex-friends, did the castle add that after I bolted?" Scootaloo asked as Alucard nodded... great... as if this castle wasn't confusing enough as is.

So Scootaloo and Alucard go to the right, immediately leaving the Ever Garden and entering... a library.

"Great... Scoots has to trot through egghead territory..." Rainbow said with some minor annoyance, "Look at the bright side, Rainbow, at least Scootaloo isn't reading those books considering anything could be in them," Twilight retorted not even noticing that some of the books were alive and actively attacking Scootaloo and Alucard.

"Ah'm more worried 'bout if Scoots'll be able ta fight Apple Bloom and Sweetie since they don't seem ta be on Scoots' side fer once," Applejack said as Scootaloo used a Dash Attack on a book. Fluttershy noticed Alucard doing some gestures and taking the souls of all nearby enemies... multiple times sometimes, "Alucard's powers are scary, I'm so glad he's not like his father or else that world was doomed," she noted before Discord said "Fluttershy, you realize Alucard has the same powers as his father right?"

"Oh..."

"Darling, I'm worried for Scootaloo, she needs to get out of the castle!" Rarity states but Discord shakes his head no, "Sorry, but this might be fate, for all we know all of the crusaders being sent there was preordained from the start so I won't get Scootaloo out, and she doesn't even need me as she always knows what's up next through those 'save points' so, let's just watch," obviously earning looks from everypony(except Pinkie Pie because of course).

"You know Discord's right! It'll be our own little version of Lucar's 'A Sweetie Dreamland'"

"What?"

"Huh?"

By this point Scootaloo was walking through a room with multiple destroyed bookshelves, right before jumping over a possessed book.

Scootaloo and Alucard had split up again, Scootaloo opting to search the lower path which had lots, and that's not a joke, lots of Thornweeds and even some Corpseweeds. Luckily Scootaloo now knew how to use Soul Steal so the Thornweeds(He opted to calling them just Une) weren't a hassle... the Corpseweeds however... the head trapped in the Corpseweed shoot gunk towards Scootaloo and she either had to attack the gunk to destroy it or dodge it and the number of them makes dodging them perfectly difficult.

Scootaloo had to slowly approach to ensure that they didn't give her too much issue. Eventually she did so and found... an empty room with a hole in the roof... you serious? Now to go through the Thornweeds and Corpseweeds again...

One return trip and horde fight later.

Scootaloo went upstairs as Alucard came back, a rare jewel(As Scootaloo assumes) in hand, "Now we can open enchanted doors like we saw earlier, did you find anything Scootaloo?" Alucard asked and Scootaloo just shook her head. They went back, using some potions that Alucard somehow had to get to full fighting condition("Corpseweeds are awful and I hate them" Scootaloo said), to the Ever Garden, and opening the enchanted door they saw earlier taking them to another new area...

The Deep Caverns.

As it's name suggests, these are some deep caves, probably going to the Earth's cores if they go deep enough. Alucard said how the last time he had to go deep below, he had to fight three bosses in specific(Well, not actually, two of them were technically optional.)

Alucard entered a room with pillars, finding the guard dog Cerberus. It wasn't hard, all Alucard had to do was stand on a pillar and throw holy water, occasionally dropping down to slash at its faces sometimes... was that supposed to be hard?

Alucard stepped into a massive room with many corpses throughout it... and he knew... it was Granfaloon, called Legion by some. Axes in Hand, Rehab's Frost in the other, Alucard was ready for this fight!

Alucard stepped into what looked like an ordinary save room... but he knew better. He interacted with the save room and fought the Succubus without problems.

Scootaloo(and the ponies) felt her eyes go wide at hearing those... Cerberus, guard dog of Tartarus has a counterpart, a collection of dead bodies called Granfaloon(or Legion), and a Succubus... if those stories told Scootaloo anything... it's be prepared for anything. Along the way... Scootaloo got lost. "Oh great... now where do I go from here?" She asked as Alucard had seemingly let her get lost..

She walked through the Deep Caverns, finding human like creatures that controlled ice that she'll call an Ice Elemental, probably not the right name but she is kinda lost right now. Scootaloo had a battle with the Ice Elemental only getting hit once by a big icicle, "Ow... note to self: Icicles hurt," she stated, knowing full well she was just stating the obvious.

As Scootaloo went deeper in the caves, she eventually found a room with a keyhole shaped portal in it, stepping into it sends her to the... entrance? She cane tell she is in another warp room but... where is she now? She pressed a switch and opened a shortcut to the Chemical Lab, however she has no reason to return here for now so she goes back to the Deep Caverns through the Warp Room.

Back in the Deep Caverns, she looks around for Alucard again, finding several rooms with rare stuff, some armor, some Life ups(of which she used half of her finds), some Heart ups, a new kind of drink that increases her magical energy which she called a Mana up. She knew that getting all of the things would be impossible for now, it's kinda been that way the entire castle, pathways the hide stuff(Most likely) that she can't reach yet without some form of enhancement like flight or teleporting... if only... maybe... her wish can come true.

Scootaloo focused for a moment on the out of reach area and.... in a flash... her artificial horn teleported her! "Woah! Okay, I can get used to this!" She exclaimed happily! Now she could teleport without using Hellfire! If only se had a bit more range, if this platform was any farther away she would have had to struggle to get on the platform. We went and grabbed both the Life up and the one mysterious object. She just feels that it'll be important... for what? No idea, she just does.

It took her a good solid minute to find Alucard who had found a boss room and was gathering hearts, now having the Knife subweapon. "Finally, took you long enough," Alucard said.

"Sorry, I got a little lost. I did find a strange device but, nothing that particular," she responded as she attacked a candle that dropped some holy water. Picking it up and using some hearts to test it, the holy water created an extra tall flame with a line of fire(Not as tall as the base flame) in all of the the cardinal directions. "Sick!" She said, watching as the fire vanished.

Before they entered the room, Scootaloo used the holy water to open a strange wall. Behind the wall was a new room with... a single switch. "Well, guess we should press the switch for whatever in this room," Alucard said as he stepped on the switch, pressing it and it revealed a chest which had... a new sword. It had a purple wing like hilt and a purple grip. Its blade had three triangles at the end.

"I remember Button Mash talking about a sword that looks similiar to that from 'The Myth of Hilda,' if I remember it was called the 'Master Blade' or whatever," Scootaloo commented as Alucard put his old sword away and started using the "Master Blade."

They went back to the boss room and enter the room.

The ponies watched as Scootaloo and Alucard entered the boss room which was... a save room? "Oh... Scootaloo gets to save..." Fluttershy said looking up as Scootaloo interacted with the "Save Point" only for the portal to change screens to show Scootaloo in a completely destroyed Ponyville, no sign of Alucard.

"So what is going on? This is weird," Twilight asked... only for Discord to shrug in response.

Scootaloo walked around the streets of this destroyed Ponyville, not sure why she's here after saving. A little bit farther and she sees... corpses. Lots of pony corpses(This freaked the ponies watching out) the farther Scootaloo went, the more there were, and then Scootaloo reached an area with a big bubble of nothing it seemed, out of the bubble came an odd creature, it was basically a giant robot monkey with rocket launchers... and yet, in this place, Scootaloo knew what it was... Galleom. She didn't know why or how but she did. She started the fight by using her holy water which the Galleom has major problems dodging due to its large size, Galleom tries punching her but she dodges before it can.

Scootaloo grabbed Fatal Wind in her magic and used it to attack the Galleom which... did more than she expected. The Galleom jumped and turned into what is basically a carriage as it dashed towards her... she dodged with a well placed teleport. "Goodness, this Galleom really doesn't want to let up, does it?" She said as she attacked it with holy water again, clearly getting it angry enough for it to stomp as it turned red, "It does have a short temper though," she said as she giggled... then came the unexpected rockets, the first three hit her as she attacked and busted the fourth before she landed on the ground and used Hellfire... but instead of shooting fire balls, she shot balls of darkness!

The balls of darkness seem to have hurt the Galleom tons as it starts sparking almost as if it's short circuiting, one more attack from Fatal Wind and the Galleom explodes!

Scootaloo awoke and grabbed the now in the room reward(A pair of artificial wings) as she gained a double jump. Walking out of the room and she finds a save room not far in which she saved for now... if that Galleom was bad... what can she expect of future battles?

Author's Note

Area(s) visited: The Lying Library, The Deep Caverns, Future Encounter.

Bosses beaten: Galleom(Dream)

Relic(s) obtained: Leap Stone(Allows Alucard to double jump), Artificial Wings(Gains more jumps as time goes on).

References: Galleom(Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers), Master Blade(Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda)

Yep, a fight against a Galleom is the only reason UME is mentioned in this story, yep. Totally.

Also, a fun fact is that, despite what the one scene with Sweetie Void sneezing implies, this story is taking place about 200 years before UME, and if the Galleom is a "future encounter" well... fill in the blanks:pinkiecrazy:

Also, yes, I'm aware that this chapter is almost double length than usual. Be happy.

Chapter 6: We are one and we are many... we are Legion.

Scootaloo exited the save room and saw Alucard standing beside the door, leaning on the wall. "So what happened? You went and fought something and soon after it started, the leap stone and those wings appeared," Alucard asked as Scootaloo shook his head, not seeming to want to talk about it, "We should get going, we should head downwards to keep preparing for the fight against Apple Bloom and Death," Scootaloo said with a newfound chill that also had hints of... unfamiliarity.

The group went a little deeper, finding another new area which Scootaloo called the Fiery Pits. As its name suggests... it's fiery and reminds Scootaloo of the pits of Tartarus. Scootaloo using her rapier to basically carelessly attack the monsters... okay, something is going on with Scootaloo.

"Scootaloo, are you okay?" Alucard asked.

"Never better," Scootaloo replied her voice not exactly making that clear.

"I'm concerned, until now you were so innocent and child-like... what happened in that fight?"

"You wanna know that bad? I saw death and decay. I saw Twilight's castle replaced by a bubble of nothing... I saw a rocket firing, punching, giant metal ape called a Galleom. There." She said in mild annoyance, "Now let's hurry. Apple Bloom and Death aren't going to wait forever." Scootaloo said as she kept walking... or well... trotting in her case. Scootaloo used her teleport to get onto a high up ledge, grabbing a Life up by doing so.

Alucard was starting to be very concerned by this odd new persona that Scootaloo had become.

All the ponies were watching in... moderate fear...

"What happened to Scoots!?" Rainbow Dash asked... and yet... no pony, not even Pinkie, understood what had happened.

When Pinkie doesn't even know what happened, that's when you know shit's gone to hell. "Could it be a part of the castle?" Twilight asked as Scootaloo killed a Great Armor(Which looked like a giant version of the Sword Armors), only getting silence as an answer...

Scootaloo kept moving throughout the Tartarus-like area finding a fight against Cerberus that lasted literally two seconds... the ponies and Alucard being baffled... all of them really underestimated how powerful Cerberus would be.

That or Scootaloo fought the Galleom way before she was supposed to.

"Shame that Sweetie Void won't be able to help Scootaloo for around 200 years because she simply doesn't exist at this point..."

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Ahem, Darlings, if Scootaloo is getting strong enough to the point that she can take on a boss by herself, why doesn't she and Alucard just go and take on Death and Apple Bloom?" Rarity asked.

"They prolly ain't ready yet, Rares. Yes, they may have the strength but they may not have the equipment," Applejack responded, to which Rarity nodded in understanding, watching as Scootaloo breaks a wall open and obtained more wall salad.

"And that isn't even c-considering the fact that t-there's still Dracula and Sweetie Belle..." Fluttershy added as Scootaloo broke a candle(why are there candles in a place filled with fire?) to get the axe subweapon, which is thrown in a downwards arc for Scootaloo, she grabs the holy water back and lets Alucard get the axe. Not even sure what's real or not anymore and Alucard casually destroys a wall and comes back to Scootaloo holding a sword he calls Rahab's Frost saying "This was better than that 'Master Blade' anyways" as they moved on.

As the ponies watched there were a number of things that Scootaloo and Alucard did... mainly fight and defeat monsters to prepare for the eventual fight against Granfaloon/Legion. As this went through, Scootaloo just seemed relieved that the monsters were dying, more of those "Elemental" enemies(Scootaloo learned that they were called Shades and the ice ones were called Frozen Shades) which were called Burning Shades. It also wasn't long before an armor with a discus, a Discus Armor, was encountered and defeated, proving to deal much damage if you get hit by the discus but not much otherwise.

Fight fight fight, kill kill kill. This story is filled with this bs ain't it? Well, trust that the number of monsters they fight is much larger than you read about.

Anyways...

Scootaloo killed one last Shade, a Poison Shade, and trotted past a picture of Sweetie Belle, slashing it in the process.

Sweetie Belle watched that picture get slashed, through the screen Dracula had, with a sweat drop on her head... oh how she'd fucked up by underestimating how long Scootaloo'd survive.

Alucard looked at the actions Scootaloo had done and by now had stopped asking questions... better to not question what he won't understand. A few minutes later and we have another split, Scootaloo starts trotting down one path automatically, "What, hey, let's plan who takes what path first," Alucard said but Scootaloo only turned and said, "I take this path, you take the other, if we run into a dead end, then we come back here and head down the other's path, got it?" Which caused Alucard to nod and walk down his path.

Scootaloo's path was filled with monsters of various types... anyone seeing a pattern here? She fought and fought and fought. Each and every monster killed was relieving for her and she even got a drop from a Discus Armor which can replace her current armor(Which was the Copper Breastplate she had since the Memory Museum) for a huge boost to her defenses.

She even found a room with a chest! However, upon closer inspection, the chest was actually a mimic to lure Scootaloo close... it died soon after that fatal error, dropping a big bag of money! There was a real chest in a room hidden by a wall though, that one having a slice of cake!

And Scootaloo went through room after room, enemy after enemy, getting stronger with each experience point earned, just to be certain she'll be ready for whatever the boss of the Fiery Pits is. Because she does not consider Cerberus the boss because of how easily it fell. Albeit she also didn't exactly give it a chance to attack, just jumping straight in with a Dash Attack... oh well.

After a number of rooms filled with enemies, Scootaloo found the boss room, "Heh, that's a first, My path led to the boss room," she said aloud and waited on Alucard by leaning against a wall, having plenty enough hearts to make it through the fight here.

Scootaloo and Alucard enter the room and watch as the ball of dead bodies known as Granfaloon or Legion goes up and floats. Alucard starts chucking axes at Granfaloon, hurting each of its sections. Bodies fall off of it and Scootaloo deals with them by attacking with either Fatal Wind or Infernal Darkness and it isn't long before one of its laser firing tendrils is revealed, more work to get rid of each and every section only for Alucard to be caught off guard by a laser that wasn't even telegraphed! He landed on the ground, badly hurt as Scootaloo took it upon herself to attack Legion...

Only for everything to go blindingly bright.

Scootaloo reflected on the memory, knowing better than to get close to it this time. Alucard having made it, ready for the fight against Granfaloon. "We can't get close to Legion, we'll have to use our subweapons and magic to do damage," Scootaloo said, entering the boss room.

As Scootaloo and Alucard entered the room, the first thing the ponies noticed was the large pit of faceless bodies... "Oh no! It's as if this is some grim foreshadowing to some super creepy boss monster!" Pinkie said she watch a part of the pit started to rise.

"Is... are... is that a ball of corpses...?" Twilight asked as the "ball of corpses" rises up... in the air, despite none of the corpses making it having mouths, it speaks by saying, "More have come to join the collective. We are one... we are many... we are Legion!"

"Ah don't think that's just a ball of corpses Twi..." Applejack said as Alucard threw an axe at Legion. "Oh... those poor people died just to become a part of a monster..." Fluttershy said while looking as one of the axes broke a section off causing lots of the faceless corpses to fall and come to life!

"Uh... weren't those dead before?" Rainbow said as Scootaloo made sure the corpses died... again. "They should have been if they were corpses, goodness," Rarity replied with... mild digust that such a monster as Legion could even exist.

Alucard crouched down and suddenly a group of spirits appeared and rushed towards segments of Legion, impressing Twilight despite her unease about Legion as a whole.

Scootaloo's dash attack cleared out the second wave of corpses as she lit her horn to attempt that spell, Petra Spirit, only to be met with the usual result, Hellfire. At least some more fallen corpses were killed in the process.

Alucard threw another axe as his Petra Spirits vanished, destroying more sections and even damage the core a little. Over this period, Legion started preparing a laser from a tendril... not that Scootaloo and Alucard didn't predict it and dodged with ease. More axes, more spirits, more corpses that Scootaloo destroys.

"Soul Steal!" Scootaloo called out instinctively as small orb like objects went towards her, healing her and damaging the enemies... "Woah, I can do that? Actually, questions later, we have a Legion to kill," she added as she used another dash attack to clear out another wave of corpses.

And Alucard has an idea, he throws the axe towards Scootaloo and she bucks the axe towards Legion, "What the hay, Alucard!?" Scootaloo announced as she hit more and more axes to Legion, each hit dealing plenty of damage.

Alucard smirked at how well his idea worked, "Well well, that was the first time that happened. For a new trick, let's call it a 'Dual Crush,'" he said as Legion's core fell and burned away(to the ponies horror)... giving Scootaloo a smirk herself, "Then I guess we'll have to try many more methods of Dual Crushing involving different subweapons and who starts it," she replied.

The next room had... the Soul of Wolf, "This is where Death hid my wolf form? Why?" Alucard asked as he turned towards Scootaloo equiping the nearby helmet.

"No time to ask questions Alucard, does this wolf form of your's unlock anything?" Scootaloo asked, only getting a shake of Alucard's head, "Then all we have left to really do is either grind out enemies or go and fight Death and Apple Bloom," Scootaloo finished.

"Let's go and finish what we started back in the museum, will you be able to fight an ex-friend?" Alucard asked, to which Scootaloo nods.

They find a save room which takes them back to the entrance and from there they return to Memory Museum and save...

Despite what Scootaloo had expected, fighting Death had been easy... Apple Bloom however... not as much. Her throwing her scythe and shooting giant skulls already were bad enough but through in the light beams and her bone trees and you've got a recipe for a bad time. Not counting the fact that Death uses his scythe in the same way(minus the bone trees) but with a bigger scythe... it was only a matter of time before Alucard died with Scootaloo following short after with a beheading...

Scootaloo walked out to a familiar scene, Alucard swinging his sword against a Sword Armor. "Well, we ready finally?" Alucard asked as Scootaloo nods. "Before we go Alucard, you should know that Apple Bloom can summon giant skulls to chomp us, summon beams of light for some reason, throw her scythe, and summon trees of bone by hitting the ground with her scythe," Scootaloo said grabbing Fatal Wind, her Rapier since before she even met Alucard, and got ready... Apple Bloom and Death have to pay.

Apple Bloom waited with Death as Scootaloo and Alucard entered, "Well well well, welcome Scootaloo and Alucard, ya'll finally arrived, now let's git started 'cause ah know ya'll won't listen," Apple Bloom said as some mini scythes started appearing from thin air, Alucard and Scootaloo split up, Alucard attacking Apple Bloom while Scootaloo attacks Death and, as expected, he entered his second phase not long after the fight started.

Alucard backdashes as he throws an axe and hits Apple Bloom square on the head, before crouching and summoning a set of Petra Spirits, not expecting a second set to have joined his... Scootaloo has learned Petra Spirit... She's becoming one pretty broken little filly.

The two sets of spirits attack Apple Bloom as the beams of light were summoned. Scootaloo was busy dodging all the mini scythes Apple Bloom was summoning, making sure Alucard is okay as well, accidently getting hit by a mini scythe, proving their hassling strength.

When the attacks gave a moment of rest, which was rare, Scootaloo and Alucard grouped up and grabbed a serving of their respective wall food to heal up, Scootaloo attacking Apple Bloom after eating, seemingly causing her to fall down... beaten.

"We... did it. Woo! We beat Death and Apple Bloom!!" Scootaloo entered a celebratory state as the odd device she picked up flashed and suddenly... Apple Bloom was gone. "That won't come back to haunt us... will it?" Scootaloo asked, to which Alucard shrugged.

They exited the room, Alucard's equipment returned and Scootaloo's Aritifical Wings now give her five jumps(One extra jump per beaten boss it seems)... as they returned to the save point.

Author's Note

Area(s) visited: Fiery Pits

Bosses beaten: Legion, Death and Apple Bloom.

Relic(s) obtained: Soul of Wolf(Allows Alucard to transform into a wolf)

Gimmick learned: Dual Crush(Combines the starting user and the subweapon to create a super powerful attack)

Yes, I used a feature from Portrait of Ruin in a post-SotN section. Also, for those wondering why Apple Bloom now has colored text, I use colored text for characters with both: A signiture color and a special talent. So there's that. The same aituarion will be used for Sweetie Belle.

Also, that device sent Apple Bloom into the chaotic realm, that won't come back to haunt the heroes once Scootaloo's back in Equestria most certainly.

Chapter 7: The climb to the top and the fall of the Lord of Darkness!

"Once every 100 years, when the faith in God is forgotten, Dracula will come back to life," a statement that proves ironic when considering the situations of our heroes. Christopher Belmont beat Dracula and still had to fight him again 15 years later. If Simon Belmont hadn't destroyed Dracula's remains seven years after his fight with the count, he would have died and Dracula would have been revived. 5 years after Richter beat Dracula, he was controlled by the dark priest Shaft to revive Dracula... if it wasn't for Alucard, Dracula would have come back and reigned terror on Europe yet again... and now, one year after Alucard defeated Dracula, it's back... with Scootaloo having to fight her friends, or well, ex-friends, to destroy Dracula's castle again yet again this century. Luckily the magic of friendship exists to reveal her hidden potential.

Scootaloo and Alucard walked through the familiar hallways, through the Memory Museum and the Ever Garden, going up to the final location, one that Scootaloo has called The Hall of Torture. The hall way is filled with iron maidens, but Scootaloo doesn't pay them any mind, instead focusing on climbing the castle to get to the Top Floor. Some more secret areas and more equipment and Scootaloo has a dragon helm of her own. Each stair climbed leads them closer to Dracula and Sweetie Belle.

In fact, there is only a few relics left to collect, namely, the Soul of Bat and Form of Mist for Alucard and at least one other for Scootaloo. And so Scootaloo and Alucard split up to find the missing relics.

As Scootaloo walked down her path, she noticed just how different this area was from before. "So many staircases that are just missing, it seems," Scootaloo commented as she used three jumps to reach a higher platform, breaking a candle to get... feathers? She picked it up and it acted as other subweapons, replacing her current one with it, when she used it on the ground, she shot one to three feathers from her wing, in the air however, she shot 3 feathers exactly in a downward spread. "Heh, a unique subweapon just for me? Oh, Chaos, you really shouldn't have," Scootaloo said sarcastically as she picked up hold water again, not liking these feathers as they seem pretty useless.

Scootaloo keeps going through her path even finding a Final Guard(A golden version of the Great Armor) which... was tedious to kill because it resists everything... luckily she has holy water, but it still takes forever just because of how much health this resistant thing has!

After Scootaloo beat the Final Guard, she moved forward, finding a Familiar Card of her own, summoning a little cloud to shock her enemies. Such a wonder, ain't it?

She kept going, finding a wall that could be broken and doing so to reveal a Life up with a Mana up.

She eventually entered a room with another Doppelganger of her, this one clearly being stronger than the one from Memory Museum. It started the fight with a use of Hellfire followed by a teleportation behind Scootaloo and rapid attacks with the fake Fatal Wind(Which Scootaloo is dubbing Fatal Wend) catching Scootaloo way off guard. Luckily she has lots of extra health, right? Scootaloo's little cloud shocks the Doppelganger causing it's onslaught to end as Scootaloo retaliates by using Petra Spirit followed by Infernal Darkness which did loads of damage to the Doppelganger.

Scootaloo even attacked with her Fatal Wind to deal damage in the hopes of causing the Doppelganger to just DIE! Several dash attacks later and the Doppelganger explodes into blood, some of it getting onto Scootaloo's coat and mane, and walks into the next room where she has to jump not once, not twice, but 6 times!

At least when she's at the top, she finds her last relic... a stake made of oak... safe to say she was disappointed. Like, the hell was she expected to do with this?

Oh well, she put it in her bag and started to just move on with her life. She went back down to where she and Alucard had split up originally.

It took Alucard several minutes after Scootaloo got back to return to the split up point, bat and mist forms obtained. They continued through the Hall of Torture's main path until they reach...

Area: Top Floor
Year: 1798

One final save, and one final stairway. Scootaloo and Alucard climb up the stairway, ready to finish the adventure. Slowly going up the stairway, step by step.

They reach the top and Scootaloo breaks a candle to summon... a BIG boomerang. It was time to fight the filly and the Lord of Darkness, Dracula.

"Oh... darling I can't look!" Rarity exclaimed aloud as Sweetie Belle and Dracula were placed into view. All of the ponies(Except Pinkie and Rainbow Dash) were nervously watching the portal, even Discord was worried about this. "Come on Scoots! You got this! Show us and that betraying filly who's boss!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Well well, you've arrived Scootaloo. I'll admit, watching you beat Apple Bloom and Death gave me a fright... but then Dracula assured me that Death losing is normal considering the fact that Death isn't like he used to be," The ponies heard Sweetie Belle say, her elegance having clearly gone off the charts as she is no wearing something you'd see at a fancy party.

Scootaloo and Alucard weren't going to stall, "Say what you need and let's get this over," Alucard said, unaware of Sweetie Belle's strengths. "Be careful Alucard, Sweetie Belle, being a unicorn, has pretty extensive control of magic so she'll probably have many more ranged or magic based attacks compared to Dracula," Scootaloo whispered to Alucard who nodded.

Sweetie Belle looked at the two and threw her glass, causing it to shatter on the floor, before standing up and teleporting onto the ground in front of Scootaloo and Alucard. Moments later, she surrounded her hoof in energy and did the giant slash!(To everyone except Dracula, Pinkie Pie, and Discord's surprise) That slash did a lot of damage, not really giving Scootaloo and Alucard a chance to dodge it.

Scootaloo attacked Sweetie Belle from the side... only to not hit her? Just wonderful... Alucard attacked her head and then she reacts to being hit.

So we can only attack her at the head, can we? Scootaloo asked herself before watching Sweetie Belle teleport to another location to use Hellfire. Scootaloo counterattacked by striking Sweetie Belle's head and it actually did damage. Good to know, Scootaloo thought.

Scootaloo threw a giant boomerang and it hit Sweetie Belle twice, once forward and backwards, before Scootaloo was hit by Alucard being thrown towards her, "Pathetic, sure you both landed some lucky hits but... is this it? Where was the skill and agility that you had during previous fights?" Sweetie Belle said with a condescending tone.

And Scootaloo wasn't having it, despite her weakened state due to being hit, she stood up and used her dash attack, hitting Sweetie Belle for a decent chunk of damage! Alucard got up and saw how winded Scootaloo was from taking damage and using her dash attack.

Alucard tossed a cup of pudding from all the way back in Memory Museum, which Scootaloo ate and recovered from the pain. Alucard hit Sweetie Belle with an axe while Sweetie Belle was jumping, when she returned to the ground, she turned into lots of bats and dashed towards Scootaloo who hadn't seen it coming and got hit.

Scootaloo waited for Sweetie Belle to reform before attacking her again, seemingly finishing this phase... though Alucard knew the fight wasn't over. Dracula tossed his glass as Sweetie Belle gathered lots of energy probably for a phase 2 preperation. Dracula fought very similiarly to Sweetie Belle but the attacks native to him are far more difficult. Hellfire has him sending three columes of three fireballs all at the same time, the bat dash was taller(mainly due to him being taller), the Infernal Darkness(Which Sweetie Belle didn't use) shot in three waves versus the singluar two balls that Alucard and Scootaloo did.

And obviously he also only took damage if you hit his head. Just a lovely combonation.

Dracula shot fireballs as Scootaloo attacks the ones that will immediately hurt her while Alucard uses his shield to block them entirely. Dracula had just a large opening to be attacked which Scootaloo and Alucard made use of. The attacking didn't last long as they got burned by a fire pillar coming from below. Both Alucard's Sword familiar and Scootaloo's cloud familiar attacked Dracula.

"Celestia... Dracula is tough," Scootaloo said before watching Alucard turn into a bat and do a Wing Smash... and that made Scootaloo curious... what if...

In a matter of moments after thinking, Scootaloo felt her body shifting and soon, when the effects ended, she looked and saw she had(somehow) turned into a bat without the Soul of Bat relic! She used this new-found ability to Wing Smash Dracula who also ended up looking defeated.

Scootaloo returned to a pony form, her attire having changed upon transforming into a bat. She now effectively looks like a pony version of Alucard, "Woah, okay, this is fucking sick," She said. "No time to celebrate, Scootaloo, the fight isn't over," Alucard said.

Sweetie Belle slowly rose from her fallen state and she, along with Dracula, transformed into a giant monster!

Sweetie Belle's monsterous form looked like a cross of a Alicorn and a dragon, where as Dracula looked like a giant demon. Scootaloo and Alucard mutually agreed that they need to fight them seperately.

Scootaloo chose to fight Sweetie Belle while Alucard fights Dracula.

Sweetie Belle starts her fight off with using her magic to command the souls of the damned to home in and attack Scootaloo, luckily she dodges with ease. Scootaloo noticed something, despite this form's larger health, Scootaloo could attack it anywhere.

Sweetie Belle charged a large beam of magic before launching it at Scootaloo who did get hit. Scootaloo got out one of her Wall Salads("This monster doesn't have to be so strong" Scootaloo commented) before she counterattacked with Petra Spirit. The spirits attacked Sweetie Belle, angering the monsterous filly "ARGH! SUCH INSOLENCE FROM THE LIKES OF YOU SCOOTALOO!" She yelled as she started breathing fire like a dragon disrupting Alucard's dodging as well as making Scootaloo a little toasty.

Scootaloo looked at Alucard, and smirked... she wanted to use this Dual Crush. Scootaloo held her hoof out and Alucard grabbed it, both Alucard and Scootaloo held fives boomerangs each and threw them in random directions, some hitting Sweetie Belle and Dracula, and when the boomrangs returned to the respective users they both grew to massive size and got thrown at the respective opponent dealing 4 big blows.

The attack ended and the next thing was Dracula leaping and trying to crush Alucard and Scootaloo... only to be hit and die. This leaves just Sweetie Belle to defeat.

"THIS FIGHT IS NOT GOING TO BE YOUR'S TO WIN!! I AM SWEETIE BELLE! THE LADY OF DARKNESS!!" Sweetie screamed, getting hit by Alucard's sword dealing... minor damage? "Great, seems she raised her defense, well... this will take a good while," Alucard announced.

"No, let me handle Sweetie Belle... alone," Scootaloo said, getting in front of Sweetie Belle, Fatal Wind in her magic. Alucard nodded and got out of the way.

"Does Scoots have a death wish or something?!" Rainbow Dash said as Scootaloo used a Dash Attack to hurt Sweetie Belle. "Rainbow-"

"No! Twilight, look at her! She has to fight a monsterous version of her ex-friend... for what reason?!" Rainbow interrupted Twilight, "For once in this adventure, I don't think she can handle the threat alone and we've watched her fight literal demons!" she added.

Discord laughed, knowing full well that Scootaloo could handle it, even making an account on the new "Chaosnet" that had proped up, he expected that Chaosnet would be very helpful in the future for a certain filly to recrute heroes from across the omniverse. No telling if he'd be around for that day though, maybe Twilight would have to tell him in the afterlife if his expectation was right or not.

"At this point, I'd be more surprised if Scootaloo lost!" Pinkie Pie said with a million ideas for a party for Scootaloo's "defeated the dark lord and your ex-friend" party. All while the ponies watched as Scootaloo threw several boomerangs and attacked with Infernal Darkness, all dealing minor damage.

"Are we ignoring the fact that she's having to fight a monsterous version of my sister that's taking very small amounts of damage? Specifically the small amounts of damage part?" Rarity commented as Scootaloo launched a boomerang at Sweetie Belle.

"Couldn't Scootaloo resolve this with peace instead of fighting?" Fluttershy asked as Sweetie Belle shot a conjoined ball of armors at Scootaloo, who dodged it by then had to defeat the armors that fell out of the ball.

The tricks Sweetie Belle has were getting on Scootaloo's nerves. Scootaloo considered just destroying Sweetie Belle... but she held back. Scootaloo is not like Sweetie Belle and Dracula.

Scootaloo looked Sweetie Belle in the eyes... those eyes, once a happy emerald, now a demonic red... that coat, what a sweet ivory, now a scaly and sickly green, her mane is all that's even Sweetie Belle anymore... Scootaloo had to land a finishing blow, she gripped her Rapier... no... it isn't just her Rapier, it's Fatal Wind, a rapier that chose her as its wielder... hard, and applied plenty of holy magic onto it as she Dash Attacked... finishing Sweetie Belle off... a single tear drops from Scootaloo's eye as Sweetie Belle went back to looking like her old filly self...

Like what happened with Apple Bloom, the device Scootaloo picked up glowed and soon... Sweetie Belle was gone.

Area: Outside Castlevania
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Alucard watched as the castle cumbled, "Scootaloo, are you okay after all that?" Alucard asked as Scootaloo nodded, "Yeah, I just... need some time to think... we... didn't have a choice anyways," the filly replied, "Alucard... let's stay in touch somehow even after I go home," she added, which Alucard agreed too... and soon Scootaloo's body was glowing a brillent white...

"Guess... this is goodbye for now Alucard, if we see each other again... just call me Scoots," Scootaloo said as she vanished without a trace...

"Bye Scootaloo, I'll miss you."

Area: Chaotic Realm
Year: 1798

Sweetie Belle awoke from her defeat, staring at the shifting location she sat in, "So ya finally arrived, eh Sweetie?" the familiar voice of Apple Bloom rang out, and as Sweetie Belle turned to her... she saw a sight she didn't expect, "Is all of this... for me?" She asked staring at the still incomplete castle and demons, Apple Bloom nodded in response.

"Oooh Scootalooooo, be ready for my own assult soon... be ready...

FOR CASTLEMANIA!"

Author's Note

Arc 1 Complete: "An unfamiliar castle with an unfamiliar threat"

Bosses beaten: Doppelganger40, Sweetie Belle, Dracula.

Relic obtained: Oak Stake(Allows the holder to land Critial Hits)

And there we have it, Arc 1 has been finished. The first trip to Castlevania. The next arc is call "And unfamiliar castle with a familiar threat" and will be the introduction of the Equestrian version of Castlevania... Castlemania(genius I know)

Also, Lucar, cause I know you'll read this. I hope you don't have a preset backstory for Chaosnet because I just gave it one :pinkiecrazy:

The next arc's bosses are all going to be exclusive to Castlemania and so expect me to become really creative with them even if they seem difficult as Scootaloo will fight them all alone.

Intermission 1: Back home, Scootaloo learning to be "normal" again.

When Scootaloo awoke, she was still in her Alucard-like attire, and she was in the Ponyville hospital... why?

Scootaloo got out of the bed, startling the doctor entering the room, "Are you sure you are okay to leave? Princess Twilight hasn't come to check on you," he said, but Scootaloo nodded and left the hospital.

Area: Ponyville
Year: 1798
One day after the events at Castlevania.

Scootaloo looked around Ponyville, appearently Pinkie had made a party and Twilight spent some time working on a way to allow Alucard to come along, and he himself brought Richter and Maria, a girl in a green outfit who Scootaloo didn't really get to meet, and they were partaking in a game where the player had to throw a boomerang in a precise way to defeat the targets. "Ah, Scootaloo, I heard you were in the hospital but I wasn't expecting you out so soon," Alucard said, to which Scootaloo shrugged, "Eh, it mainly feels as though I just had a bad dream but clearly it wasn't judging by... all of this," she said, gesturing to everything, especially the "Memory Museum Gallery" which showed everything Scootaloo and Alucard fought in perfect detail... leave it to Pinkie to do literally everything in her power to make a party pixel perfect.

And yet the first thing Scootaloo did was go to the Memory Museum Gallery. There were neat little discriptions for all the enemies and even a sign at the beginning that said the building was staying... just wonderful. All the boss monsters(including that damn Galleom) were also paired with a picture of Scootaloo(and usually Alucard) in a epic Brawl(Lol, brawl reference)... there was even a "Wall Salad" in a intentional hole in the wall. Pinkie(and Ponyville) went all out it seems... then again... did you expect any differently?

One of the games Scootaloo tried was a video game adaptation of her adventure, Button Mash was having many problems and yet Scootaloo, having lived through the adventure, beat the game easily. And safe to say but some of the bosses in the game did give Button a bit of a fright.

Another thing Scootaloo did was watch Maria Renard partake in a simulated battle against Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo smirked as all the people who hadn't seen monsterous Sweetie Belle saw the demon in all of her evil glory. Also, obviously Rainbow tried to beat it... emphasis on tried, she lost the moment Sweetie Belle slashed with her magic claw.

5 days after the party.
Area: Ponyville schoolhouse.
Year:1798

Scootaloo was in class again and found she had a hard time doing anything but focusing on the lecture. Guess she did get something from Castlevania, even if her classmates were wary of her bringing a rapier to school... Twilight (luckily) vouched and said that, so long as she didn't bring the rapier out until the end of the day(or there is a monster attack), Scootaloo could have the rapier at school. Twilight immediatedly was praised by Fatal Wind who Scootaloo just kinda realized that a rapier had a personality.

The class went great (even if all the students kept asking for Scootaloo to talk about her adventures in Castlevania) and yet... class was unusally quiet. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were too scared to mess with Scootaloo now, and with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom go-Celestia knows where... it just seemed so quiet.

Area: Everfree Forest
Year:1798

Apple Bloom trotted through the forest looking for a certain witch calling herself Estella Moon. "Witch! Come out! Yer services are required!" Apple Bloom called out. A hut seemingly appeared from nowhere, and Apple Bloom knew. It was a invisibility hex.

Apple Bloom entered the hut and looked right at Estella Moon, the black coated pony in a blue varient of the normal witch attire standing over a cauldron with a number of ingredients, "What does a filly like you require of me?" She asked not showing signs of surprise or even anything other than a calm chill.

"Ah'm not just a filly, ah am the lady of death and... ah have a job fer ya." Apple Bloom replied swinging her cloak to the side, showing a picture of a potions room, "Mah friend is getting a specialized castle made right now and we need ponies ta help us git rid of somepony we don't need in our way," she added. Estella Moon thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head, "Sorry filly, I'm not a fighter so I'll come to your castle but I will not fight this pony you oppose," she said.

Area: Hell
Year: 1798

Apple Bloom walked down these streets of an unfamiliar world, finding a school where a demon was pushing another, "Take that you pathetic pacifist demon!" The pusher said as the pushed ran into the school. "Howdy, would ya be Fabricator?" Apple Bloom asked, causing the pusher to turn towards her.

"Depends, who's asking?"

"Apple Bloom, lady of death, ah heard 'bout yer murder sprees across other worlds, a bet ya wouldn't mind helpin' meh and mah friend with a little nuisence we know will be in our castle."

"Heh, well... what kind of price are you willing to pay for a demon of my skill?" Fabricator asked, snaping and turning into their cloaked Diamond Tiara form, eyes hidden ubder a veil of shadow.

"Ya will have plenty of victims when we get the castle inta the Equestria we need it in," Apple Bloom replied, "One price, ya cannot murder the mane 6, leave 'em fer meh and the castle's lady," she added.

"Heh, sounds good. I accept your little deal," Fabricator said as they returned to the chaotic realm... one more to recruit.

Area: ???
Year: 1798

Apple Bloom was on the verge of pulling her mane out with how stubborn this one pony was being, "I am not accepting your deal, I will not let myself be a lesser villain to the big bad, plus, the Chaotic Elements of Evil have already offered me a job," Golden Crafter said, making Apple Bloom pull at her mane.

"Alright, can ah at least use yer likeness fer paintings?" Apple Bloom asked, clearly tired of Golden Crafter by now. Golden Crafter nodded.

Area: Ponyville
Year: 1798
8 days later.

Scootaloo sat in class, listening to Ms. Cheerilee's lecture when she had a strange and sudden feeling. All of her classmates felt it too.

Dread.

Ms Cheerilee looked out the classroom window and saw, "Strange, when did that other castle exist?" She said, prompting Scootaloo to jump from her seat and look outside.. the moon shining from behind the castle despite it being the middle of the day. Sweetie Belle has returned.

All of Scootaloo's classmates looked through the window, fear clear on their faces as they saw a walking pony skeleton. Scootaloo rushed to her locker, getting her weapon and armor before rushing towards the new castle.

Author's Note

Arc 2 starts: "Unfamiliar Castle, Familiar threat"

Characters added: Fabricator(me), Estella Moon(owned by my friend Alexrun), Golden Crafter(Owned by my friend Max, known here as DiTwiandMrFluffs)

Arc 2 time! Welcome to the Castlemania arc! This arc will introduce the biggest problem for Scootaloo... brainwashed and hybridized Mane 6 members:pinkiecrazy:

Also, lore drop. In this universe, Discord only has distant relation to Chaos. That's that.

If you guys have anything you'd like referenced as a pony or a enemy, leave it for me to look at and consider.

Chapter 8: Hybridized Ponies

Area: Biology Labs
Year: 1798
An hour before Scootaloo notices Castlemania.

Twilight was trapped, her friends imprisoned with her in this castle basement. "So what next lady of death?" The odd version of Diamond Tiara asked Apple Bloom, "Get meh the six syringes on that table," she said as she pointed at a table with her scythe in hoof earning a look of confusion, "What's in the syringes?" The Diamond Tiara asks.

"Just give meh the syringes!" Apple Bloom asserted as the definitely not filly handed Apple Bloom the syringes, Twilight noticed the syringes had labels... on one of them, it was what Twilight knew as the Giant Bat. There was also syringes with a wolf-like creature, a book, a Golem, a ghost(why?), and another more... unknown... monster.

The one of Giant Bat was injected into Fluttershy and suddenly she looked more like her "Flutterbat" appearence, though... much more in pain. One by one each pony was injected until Twilight was left... all of her friends... hybridized with monsters and in so much pain...

Then it was Twilight's turn. The only syringe left was the one with the book on the label and she was injected but... oddly... there was no pain like she expected. She looked as her wings had become more like book pages and her magic changed, the bindings were removed and the first thing Twilight did... was run away, to the exit! To Scootaloo!

Area: Castle Courtyard
Year: 1798
Present day.

Scootaloo enters the castle courtyard and sees a very bruised and... different Twilight. "Twilight? You alright?" Scootaloo asked as she carefully approached Twilight, Fatal Wind in her magic. Twilight rose and coughed out some paper, "Argh... remind me to never run through monster filled castles again..." she said before turning to Scootaloo, "Oh! Scootaloo! Listen, the others are still in this castle with monsters DNA hybridized into their own! You need to go and save them!" she added in a hurry.

"Calm down Twilight, I'll save them, anything else I should be aware of?" Scootaloo asked as Twilight nodded.

"Yes, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle have recruited a demon and a pony to their cause, though the pony just looked to be there for whatever Apple Bloom had offered her," Twilight replied. Scootaloo nodding and starting to go deeper in the castle... but then, "Wait! I know I said remind me to not run through monster filled castles but... could you bring me with you?" Twilight asked before Scootaloo begrudgingly sighed and nodded.

And so they started through the castle.

Scootaloo kept a careful eye on the presence of Apple Bloom, never know where she'll show up but the appearence of a save room, which in this castle forgoes the usual interaction point in favor of a wall panel, seems to imply that Apple Bloom isn't taking Scootaloo's equipment which also implies that the castle has much stronger monsters. Just wonderful.

Twilight touched the save point and a green glow surrounded her, healing her bruises but not her hybridization. She was stuck with it... great. Scootaloo soon followed and saved at the same save point. "Oh boy... you got used to the feeling of activating save points?" Twilight asked as Scootaloo nodded.

When the two left the save room they ran into an immediate problem... a door that had no switch to open it. "How in Celestia's name are we supposed to open this door?" Scootaloo said as Twilight, nearly instinctfully, approached the door and started lighting her horn, opening the door with a new spell she just knew. "... Guess that works," Scootaloo said, ignoring the obvious oddity that exists in that. They walked through the door.

Area: Ominous Garden
Year: 1798

Walking through the door to a greenhouse-like area was ominous... the many portraits in the area didn't help. And while Scootaloo could navigate the area perfectly... Twilight couldn't and many of the paths are blocked with more switchless doors.

"It's almost like they wanted you to give up or be stuck in the first room," Twilight commented making Scootaloo chuckle a little. How stupid they must have been.

Moving through the Ominous Garden proved to have several fruits, both literally and figuratively, mainly a relic which allows Scootaloo to slide as a form of attack and mobility. And it wasn't long before they found a boss door. Scootaloo entering while Twilight was forced to watch from outside.

Scootaloo trotted into a room full of painting of both ponies she knew and were unfamiliar with, luckily she had a Fairy Tome from Alucard back at the party. The paintings suddenly started shaking as they started flying and started forming the shape of a giant unicorn... it was time for Scootaloo to face her first custom made demon... Portrait Pony.

Because of Portrait Pony's sheer size, it can't easily move around as a copy of one of the ponies in the paintings jumped out, this pony being Trixie Lulamoon with the Alicorn Amulet. Scootaloo had to jump and slide to get close to Trixie and attack her, and the amulet broke in... two... hits... damn, these things aren't as durable as the originals? Pathetic.

Scootaloo tried to approach Portrait Pony again but another painting pony attacked, this one being unfamiliar to Scootaloo but a quick attack gave her its name, Golden Crafter. Wonderful. One more quick destruction of a painting pony and she returns to trying to approach Portrait Pony. Before she gets double teamed by more painting ponies, "Damn, this thing really doesn't want me near it, does it?" Scootaloo said... before realizing, "Wait a moment..." Scootaloo stepped backwards from Portrait Pony and fired some Hellfires, did it deal much damage? No. Did it summon painting ponies? Also no.

Scootaloo looked around, finding several candles... if attacking from a distance works and yet fire doesn't hurt the Portrait Pony much... maybe...

When Scootaloo breaks a candle, she gets... the axe! Exactly what she was after! She picked up the axe, got to a safe distance as close as possible to Portrait Pony... and threw it! It hit Portrait Pony causing the collection of paintings to scream in the many voices that make the portraits ponies. After that attack, the painting pobies start spawning even without Scootaloo being close and getting close to Portrait Pony makes it worse. A quick Soul Steal proves it's a HP thing. The higher Portrait Pony's HP, the less painting ponies spawn in general.

Well... shit.

Another painting Golden Crafter spawned at shot a knife right at Scootaloo's side which was dodged with a lucky duck. The painting pony was swiftly destroyed.

This was not picture day, so it was time to try and destroy the Portrait Pony. A quick Dash Attack proved Scootaloo's Fatal Wind wasn't going to be helpful in damaging this thing. It may have a weakspot though. But first, fighting another Trixie to get rid of the annoyence that is her boosted magic.

Attacking the painting Trixie herself does next to no damage so...good to know. Another two hits to the amulet and back to trying to defeat Portrait Pony. Scootaloo jumped 4 times and threw an axe, hitting the horn causing the Portrait Pony to scream louder than before, "Good to know, the horns the weak spot," Scootaloo spoke to herself and she fell down and had to slide damage a painting Sombra to get rid of it because other damages did nothing.

She still had to jump high up to attack at full effectiveness. Each hit caused the painting ponies to increase in frequency and even strength! She was even having to fight painting versions of Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom(even if they are less durable than the real thing) and destroyed more and more of the Portrait Pony's health.

More and more... more and more... and she missed to be hit by a painting pony's attack. Scootaloo coughed out some blood from her injuries, causing her to have to eat one of her food items to heal. "Damn... this enemy is really difficult now... how in tartarus am I expected to win here?" she asked as she destroyed 5 painting ponies in one fell swoop.

The Portrait Pony looked to be barely stable from all the attacks it took. The paintings all look slashed and damaged... and Scootaloo couldn't handle it... she used Infernal Darkness and Petra Spirit at once creating a new spell. Five dark entities appeared in the air and quickly dashed towards Portrait Pony, destroying its hooves in a fell swoop. Scootaloo approached the Portrait Pony... and stabbed through its head.

Twilight sat outside as Scootaloo exited the boss room, a butterfly key in her magic grip. "You... you beat that portrait beast?" Twilight said, both hopeful and scared.

"If I didn't, I'd be dead right now," Scootaloo said matter of factly, "Anyways, we now need to find the door or doors that this key opens," she added. Twilight knew... just the butterfly on the key gave it away... a fight with Fluttershy was close.

For now, Scootaloo and Twilight needed to explore, opening new doors and pathways before finding a new area locked by a butterfly door.

Area: Fluttershy's room
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Twilight entered the room, Apple Bloom was floating high up, "My my, ya'll finally showed yer faces here? How'd ya enjoy Portrait Pony ya chicken?" Apple Bloom asked with a laugh, not even giving a chance to reply, "Nah, ah know ya didn't... but ah bet ya don't know what ah did with the ponies that didn't run off, just know, the once kind Fluttershy... is very much after yer death now Scoots," Apple Bloom said as she vanished, leaving a pained and hybridized Fluttershy, her giant bat wings opening before she did the drill move that Giant Bat did. Luckily Scootaloo knew this attack by heart and dodged with ease... only to be caught off guard when the attack changed direction.

Twilight coughed out a page, it read as follows, "Yep, she's still in pain as when I saw her last. When I see that vile little filly again, I'll make her regret ever touching me and my friends!" she quickly reached for the page and hid it. She is starting to hate this cough, now the pages are showing her inner thoughts...

Scootaloo landed a strike on Fluttershy, causing her to actually bleed. Twilight noticed something, that slight amount of blood drawn seems to have changed something in Fluttershy... she was hesitating. "Scootaloo! Stop hurting Fluttershy!" She announced causing Scootaloo to stop attacking Fluttershy, who tried attacking with a swarm of bats... albeit hesitately which caused the bats to be less coordinated and thus, easy to dodge.

Scootaloo was confused by after another rather easy to dodge attack and she finally realized that Fluttershy wasn't wanting to fight.

Five more really easy attacks and Fluttershy fell on the ground... out cold. Twilight approached Fluttershy and used a spell she didn't think she knew on instinct. Fluttershy's face eased up and yet she still had the bat wings(although they weren't giant anymore.) "I think she's okay now, but... what did you do?" Scootaloo asked as Twilight shrugged. "I don't really know... I just kinda... followed my instincts," Twilight said as they both trotted out of the room...

Area: Ominous Garden
Year: 1798

Upon leaving Fluttershy's room, Scootaloo and Twilight noticed many new paths but looking behind themselves showed that the butterfly door was gone.

Oh well. Scootaloo and Twilight go to a nearby save room and save.

Author's Note

Areas discovered: Castle Courtyard, Ominous Garden, Fluttershy's room.

Hybridized Ponies met: Twilight(Spellbook), Fluttershy(Giant Bat)

Relic(s) obtained: Lizard tail(Allows the holder to slide[down + jump]

Bosses beaten: Portrait Pony, Flutterbat.

Bet you guys weren't expecting a boss fight against Fluttershy, were ya? Expect a boss fight against each of the Mane 6 members(minus Twilight) and also expect Rainbow Dash to be last.

For those wondering, Apple Bloom didn't expect Twilight's alicorn magic to cause her to feel little to no pain from hybridization. And also the "unknown monster" is Doppelganger. Hehehe. To be specific, there are five bosses(minus AB and SB) that hold keys to fighting the Mane 6 and all of the Mane 6 rooms act similiar to the area "Alucard's nightmate" and even Scootaloo's dream from the last arc. One time areas that exist for boss battles. Hehehe.

Good luck making assumptions on who's been hybridized with what(aside from what has been revealed). Also, I may go back and update Arc one to always have the area and year headers when switching areas.

Chapter 10: Shine shine little gem... you won't die

Area: Castle Keep
Year: 1798
After Scootaloo defeated Applejack.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were still watching the screen, Sweetie Belle more annoyed than worried and Apple Bloom was certainly pissed off. "Apple Bloom... I expected better of the monsters you selected and of your hybridized ponies," Sweetie Belle said taking a sip from her wine glass without looking towards Apple Bloom, "You better hope the next threat and whatever hybridized pony you put next can stop Scootaloo and Twilight before they get to us," Sweetie Belle added. Apple Bloom just stared at the screen in anger... she better hope that Rarity can keep Scootaloo at bay.

Area: Library of Souls
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Twilight spent a little time in the Library of Souls before going anywhere else, regardless of how much faster it'd be to just move forward. Scootaloo killed a monster which dropped... something that Scootaloo and Twilight had no idea how to use since it was a plant they didn't know about, "Must be a plant that only grows in the castle," Twilight suggested.

Through looking around the castle(Scootaloo kinda just remembered where they had and hadn't been), Scootaloo found a room in the Library that was different in style, looking more like a witch's hut, "Greetings there little filly," was an out of nowhere line and when Scootaloo looked to where the voice came from, she saw a grey unicorn with a purple mane and some star-covered dark blue witch attire. "you're a witch, aren't you? I know what that attire represents and I'm not afraid to draw my weapon," Scootaloo announced before the witch stopped her, "Worry not little filly, I have no plans to attack you, my name is Estella Moon but you can call me Estella if you so wish," Estella said.

"But if you aren't going to fight me... then why are you here? Being a pony I don't think it's just because you wanted to be here,"

"Because another filly promised me that I'd get plenty of new potion materials but not one has even shown up,"

Scootaloo thought about that... she was promised new potion materials by Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle and hasn't seen even one... what if... Scootaloo got out the plant she got from earlier and handed it to Estella who gasped and immediately grabbed it in her magic, "My my, this is a Heart's Desire plant, where in Equestria did you get this?" Estella asked. "A monster dropped it, wasn't even a hard monster either," Scootaloo replied and when Estella looked at her with the biggest smile on her face, Scootaloo knew... this was going to be a sidequest that'd take the entire adventure... wasn't it? "Oh, little filly, I have an idea, if you can find me these materials, I can make potions for you and once I make them once, for some bits which shouldn't be hard to get, I can make them more with ease since I have been given tools to duplicate materials like this," she said, proving Scootaloo right. Welp... she'll need to grind for future ingredients. "Do you have a list of all the materials you know of?" Scootaloo asked before being shoved with a list right in her face, "I didn't need the list shoved in my face but thank you anyways," Scootaloo added before taking the list and leaving the room.

Twilight was experimenting with her magic and managed... to use a fire ball spell she was used to using but it did take some new tricks to do. So... at least Twilight won't be completely useless in battle. "Ah, Scootaloo, what was in there?" She asked Scootaloo, who refused to give her an answer. The two continued back to the Ominous Garden.

Area: Ominous Garden
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Twilight arrived and immediately noticed the much more plentiful paths to go. One of the paths opened the group's first warp room of the castle, "Finally, this will be useful later," Scootaloo said before she and Twilight left the warp room.

"I'm surprised we didn't attempt to go to the warp room of the library area," Twilight said before Scootaloo just nodded, "I could go back and find it but I partly knew you had found the warp room in the Library of Souls," she added to her nod with a full knowledge.

When Scootaloo and Twilight went to an upper path... they found a boss door already? Before finding the door to the hybridized pony? Scootaloo entered the boss room.

Scootaloo stepped into the boss room and as the familiar feeling of the door shutting behind her, she looked forward and noticed a lack of platforms. Soon the reason became clear as gravity seemed to flip on it's own with a whole new monster revealing itself. A monster called Gravitor.

Gravitor shot bunches of projectiles that Scootaloo found out the hard way inflicted the curse status which made her unable to attack with her weapon... luckily she has a multitude of spells to use while she's cursed. She used one and found out that Gravitor was one of the few enemies that resisted her normal spells, even being immune to Soul Steal... somehow... "Of course, because it isn't a challenge without me having to find a new trick, I hate you Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle..." She said as she summoned her familiar, specifically the cloud one, to attack while she figures out something to solve her problem.

Gravitor kept firing projectiles which caused Scootaloo to realize... Gravitor only has the one attack so maybe if she... with a bit of focus she used a new spell which reflected the projectiles back at Gravitor, damaging it greatly, "It's weak to it's own projectiles, good to know, and now I have a mirror spell," she said as she gave the mirror spell a simple name, Reflect. She used the Reflect everytime she saw the projectile and when her curse ended, she went right up and started bombaring Gravitor with attacks.

Gravitor teleported and returned gravity to normal, leaving a key with a little diamond shape on it. "Well, guess I know who the next pony to save is," she said. She and Twilight went farther as a new pathway actually opened up at the other end.

Area: Crystal Mines
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Twilight got accustomed to the crystal mines as the familiar hooded head of Fabricator was in the area, "So, you two have made it farther, good job, I suppose," the demon spoke with notable strain. "Oh, hello again, what are you doing here?" Twilight asked but Fabricator didn't answer her, "Scootaloo, you have great potiental. Potiental that anyone would love to have on their side, so I ask kindly if you would be accepting of the help I would give you, it isn't much but I feel you'll make more use of it than I will," Fabricator said as they got out a necklace, Scootaloo nodded and put it on, feeling very powerful all of a sudden, "It's a necklace that the stupid scythe wielding filly gave me as a way to increase my power based on my kill count. I was too cocky to use it as you saw," Fabricator added giving Scootaloo an explanation as to her enhanced power.

"Enhancing one's strenght through their kill count... that creates some scary images..." Twilight said as Scootaloo nodded in response. "Thank you Fabricator, may we see each other in the future," Scootaloo said as Fabricator snapped and teleported.

The actual mines had a lot of extra paths most just lead to more food and other collectables. By following the correct path (which Twilight just knew somehow) they reached the door to Rarity's room... next to both a warp and save room.

Scootaloo used the key, opening the door and both her and Twilight entered.

Area: Rarity's room
Year: 1798

Both Scootaloo and Twilight can't say they didn't except a crystal cave for Rarity's room, nor can they say Apple Bloom floating in the center was a surprise, "Ah'm so fuckin' tired of ya survivin'. Ah've been much too generous with ya'll. That ends here. Ya only have Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow fuckin' Dash left, ah bet that's lovely fer ya. Say good night ya stupid chicken," She said before vanishing, revealing what happened to Rarity, one of her hooves is now a ball and chain, her whole body made entirely of white rocks with bright shimmering diamonds thrown about.

"Oh my Celestia, what the buck did she do with Rarity?! Now I'm worried about the others, especially Pinkie Pie since she's an unknown varible in this case," Twilight grimaced at that, Pinkie fused with any monster would be scary. Rarity shot 4 gems out in random directions, the gems didn't bounce but rather stuck to the surfaces they hit before exploding after a few moments, "We don't have time to think about this, we need to weaken her!" Scootaloo exclaimed loudly while wishing she checked candles for Holy Water.

Scootaloo jumped out of the way of more gems as Twilight used her magic to try and help Scootaloo even if it did next to nothing. Rarity then started targetting Twilight directly, making it clear that Rarity here can't focus on multiple targets. So the two go back and forth attacking Rarity, eventually wittling her down enough to get to her weakened state.

In this state she attacked much more generously and she even did like 10 attacks in a row before giving reprise, repeat this pattern for 5 cycles and... it's over. Rarity has been saved.

Area: Crystal Mines
Year: 1798

The two went and saved after defeating Rarity.

Author's Note

Areas discovered: Crystal Mines, Rarity's room.

Hybridized ponies met: Twilight(Spellbook), Fluttershy(Giant Bat), Applejack(Werewolf), Rarity(Golem)

Bosses beaten: Gravitor, Rarity Golem

... so... I got lazy. To those rereading the chapters and realizing that the area headers have changed, that's because I realized after releasing this chapter that I'm a dumbass who got the timeline of Castlevania wrong and needed to change everytime the year was mentioned because all of them were wrong. 1797 is when SotN took place, not 1796 and a year after 1797 is 1798.

Chapter 11: Pinkie Pie-style!

Area: Castle Keep
Year: 1798
After Scootaloo beat Rarity

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were just staring at the screen, "Ah'm fuckin' through... next either Pinkie Pie works or she fuckin' doesn't..." Apple Bloom said, so annoyed at Scootaloo and Twilight's survival. "Speaking of the pink mare, where is she?" Sweetie Belle asked, "Ah kept her within the confines of the Biology lab deeper in the castle but they'll have ta find a key ta access the Biology lab." Apple Bloom explained.

"And where is the key?"

"Ah gave it ta Estella and made 'er promise ta never give it away, especially ta Scootaloo."

"Did you forget that Fabricator is giving Scootaloo and them help?"

"... fuck."

Area: Crystal Mines
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Twilight exitted the save room unexpecting of seeing Fabricator, "Hello again. I know it seems sudden but I have something for you again, this time it'll be an item you require to continue in your quest. If you head deeper into the Crystal Mines you'll eventually find a locked door to the next area, called the Biology Labs and unlike the other 'unopenable' doors, that one requires a key. I just so happen to have gone and gotten that key from Estella Moon for you." Fabricator presents a key before vanishing, leaving the key.

"... Alright, time to go to the Biology Lab and save another of my friends" Twilight said excited at the hope of saving anypony even if it was most likely Rainbow Dash. Why would they go for Pinkie Pie when she'd be better for the ending with how chaotic she is?

Yet... oddly, Twilight felt like it was going to be Pinkie next...

Scootaloo had stopped moving and turned around when she realized Twilight wasn't moving, "Twilight. We do not have all day." Scootaloo said, breaking Twilight from her thoughts.

Moving through the Crystal Mines didn't involve much. Just attacking enemies(mainly Shades which actually look like ponies like many of the other monsters in this castle) and finding rare gems to sell later, "Well... at least we won't run out of bits anytime soon..." Twilight commented as they reached the locked door.

Area: Biology Labs
Year: 1798

After Scootaloo and Twilight unlocked the Biology Labs and entered it, the first thing they saw was where the hybridization happened. "I... I want to move along... let's get this area finished and move on to the next..." Twilight said, a little teary eyed at remembering the pain inflicted here. Scootaloo nodded and went to... a door Twilight had to open... she opened it and coughed out a sheet of paper that read, "I hate this place... we need to hurry out of here," she immediately crushed it under her hoof.

In the Biology Labs, there were many objects that proved helpful, Life Max Ups and Mana Max Ups galore everypony. But it was also incredibly linear, there was nothing to show pathways out of the way. They found a door without a label on it that was slightly out of the way, looking at it, Twilight felt... fearful... why? She approached it and felt something inside...

Twilight entered the room and looked around, she should have let Scootaloo enter it but she really wanted to be more than just a magic limitor. But she wasn't expecting this to be the boss room. When the door closed behind her, Twilight realized she made a mistake.

It wasn't long before a monster from days long gone known as Shadowfrieght appeared. It has a long gasous body. And even in the ancient days this monster was a force to be reckoned with. It started with it's worst(and only) attack where it charged towards Twilight and brought her into a nightmare, she couldn't see much but the floating ghost heads definitely didn't help.

She galloped forward and jumped, albeit not as high as Scootaloo could and she ran into a bunch of spikes she failed to notice... ending her life there.

When she stopped remembering that failure, she immediately went to tell Scootaloo, "Scootaloo! I found the boss room!" Twilight said, getting Scootaloo's attention and this time... she waited for Scootaloo to get to the door, "Well, I guess I'll go in and defeat whatever it is in there," Scootaloo said but Twilight shook her head, "We'll go in there, I want to help you after all," she said and they entered the boss room.

Upon entering, Twilight immediately shot where the Shadowfrieght is hiding. Scootaloo went to attack it but wound up trapped in it's nightmare scape. Luckily she was much more careful than Twilight and got out easily by reaching a bright light and when it ended Twilight landed a fire ball on Shadowfrieght's face.

The Shadowfrieght got hit by Scootaloo using Fatal Wind in her magic and after a minute or two, the fight ended and the key dropped. A ballon gem in tow. "That was probably the easiest boss, except for Fluttershy, in this entire castle," Scootaloo commented, why were they worried before? Because ponies of the ancient days had issues with it? Please, they just didn't have a super powerful rapier user with them.

Back to the slow process of walking through the Biology Labs, finding a Warp Point at the end, "Ugh... now where do we go Scootaloo?" Twilight asked as Scootaloo approached the Warp Portal. "Let's try the warp portal, just trust me," Scootaloo said Twilight approached and they warped.

Area: Demonology Labs
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Twilight stepped out of the warp to find themselves on the ceiling of a whole new version of the Biology Labs, "Figured as much, that wasn't just a warp portal, but a location inverter," Scootaloo commented. Twilight was baffled, they were just... standing on the ceiling, how and why have no regards here.

As they moved about and killed demons and other monsters like Alura Une(also called Venus Weeds), they found where the Shadowfrieght boss door had been and found a save room instead, "So what was dangerous is now safe and what was safe is now dangerous, understand that much," Twilight said as Scootaloo saved while still on the ceiling. "The main thing is that this opens up mountains of exploration as save rooms were converted to normal enemy rooms so we can finally explore beyond a save room," Scootaloo said as she went to where the save room was.

Area: Bloodstone Mines
Year: 1798

The inverted Crystal Mines was tough to navigate but they found the save room regardless and entered it to find a larger room where Scootaloo and Twilight went to the end to find another Location Inverter.

Area: Crystal Mines
Year: 1798

Upon returning to the ground, Scootaloo and Twilight immediately went to where the save room would be and pressed a swtich to open the shortcut. They saved and went deeper as the enemies stayed pretty much the same from the normal Crystal Mines. Twilight was starting to use more and more magic and even combining some of her magic to create giant homing fireballs, some ball lighting, and even many balls of magic from her book wings.

"Okay, maybe this hybridization isn't that bad if you can control it," Twilight said causing Scootaloo to chuckle. And soon they found Pinkie's door.

Area: Pinkie's Room
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Twilight weren't surprised at seeing Apple Bloom again. "Ya know somethin'? Ah'm tired of ya bitches ruinin' everthin' ah've wroked ta make! Maybe I'll get a laugh outta ya being killed right here right now!" She said as she vanish leaving Scootaloo, Twilight, and Pinkie... Pinkie looking pained but still seemingly normal... that was until she screamed and her color, race, and even size changed to mimic Scootaloo, her mane and tail style staying the same.

"DOPPLEGANGER?! THEY HYBRIDIZED HER WITH DOPPLEGANGER?!" Scootaloo yelled as Pinkie used a dash attack to try and stop Scootaloo. "Seems so, guess we'll have to work together to defeat this thing," Twilight announced before Pinkie used the feather subweapon on the ground, shooting three feathers towards Scootaloo.

Twilight opened her wings and shot 5 different elemental balls at Pinkie Pie(Whom Scootaloo decided to call Dopple Pie), which caused the pony to change into a Pinkie version of Twilight, book wings and all. But it also seemed to change her priorities. She started focusing entirely on Twilight.

As Twilight looked through the Memory Museum Gallery she stopped and looked at the Doppleganger statues, "An enemy that assumes the form of its intended prey," a description that reminded her a lot of the Changelings, just if they were more primitive than they already were.

She went into a room that, at the time, seemed like a weird addition. A full battle simulator that only allows ponies that have a special pass. She scrolled through the list until she found the entry for Doppleganger which summoned a Doppleganger of Scootaloo since it was simulating battles as Scootaloo saw them.

The fight wasn't particularly tough despite how much Scootaloo can do. The only issue she had was with the subweapons, the feathers weren't tough but the axes and boomerangs were.

"She's running on instinct! We'll only focus on one of us and use those abilities!" Twilight announced as Dopple Pie shot a fire ball at Twilight, giving Scootaloo a chance to attack and proving her idea correct. "Interesting... but then why were the others?" Scootaloo asked as she attacked Dopple Pie directly causing another shift in Dopple Pie's form back to the "Scootaloo" one.

"Maybe they were though, think about it, Pinkie here is using our moves with a usual Pinkie flare, I wouldn't be surprised if she uses the Party cannon but she's not thinking wholely."

"That... actually adds up, Fluttershy did a turning move, Applejack bucked, Rarity shot gems, all of them had something unique in their movesets that the base form didn't. Same with you Twilight, you do new things with your hybridized state."

"Hehe, thank you Scootaloo."

Throughout the exchange, the two had been taking turns attacking Dopple Pie, the Party Pony jumped outta being in attack range and pulled her signature Party Cannontm, which fired at Scootaloo, as that was who she was mimicking, who took a beating. Twilight watched Scootaloo fall and in her shock she let herself run on instinct.

Twilight lit her horn as she summoned a subweapon, the holy water, and threw it, summoning a single pillar of fire that later summoned two more pillars which all disappeared. Then she got the axe which she jumped and threw at Pinkie from a diagonal top-right position whoch she followed up with summoning the cross and throwing it. At the end of it, Pinkie looked exahusted. She fell down, out cold, as Twilight went and reduced the effects of Pinkie's hybridization.

Twilight went to check on Scootaloo who had just gotten up and was eating a Wall Salad, "Are you okay Scootaloo?" Twilight asked as Scootaloo nodded.

Area: Crystal Mines
Year: 1798

Twilight and Scootaloo went to the nearby save point. "... Soooo, you can summon subweapons?" Scootaloo pointed out as Twilight nodded and summoned some holy water. Scootaloo took the holy water in place of her axe. "We have one pony left to save before we fight Apple Bloom, I assume, and we know it's Rainbow Dash. How do you think she'll take her hybridized DNA and make it her own?" Scootaloo asked as Twilight shrugged.

The two then saved...

Author's Note

Areas discovered: Biology Labs, Demonology Labs, Pinkie's Room.

Bosses Beaten: Shadowfrieght, Dopple Pie

Hybridized Ponies met: Twilight(Spellbook), Fluttershy(Giant Bat), Applejack(werewolf), Rarity(Golem), Pinkie Pie(Doppleganger)

Aaaaand cut. Heya! It's me Pinkie! The author was super excited to work on this and showcase the original gimmick to the story which expands upon the inverted castle from SotN. Oh man would Sweetie Void love to explore this castle but it's a shame we're way too early in the timeline and I'll be dead by the time she arrives... if she ever does.

Pinkie. Shut.

Chapter 12: Purple Smart, we must stop Blue Fast.

Area: Castle Keep
Year: 1798
After Scootaloo and Twilight defeated Pinkie Pie

Sweetie Belle was finishing her sixth wine glass of the night, "It seems Twilight will be a thorn in our side much more than Scootaloo is on her own. Apple Bloom's secret weapon better work. What's even so special about Rainbow Dash that makes her deserving of being the final hybridized gate? Sure, she's fast, sure, she's hybridized with a ghost, still unsure how Apple Bloom did that, but what does that mean in the end? Because she better show results at this final battle. Well... final battle before the end game." She said with a vile smile on her face, "Yes... Scootaloo'll see that me and Apple Bloom haven't been slumping on our improving, hehehehe..."

Area: Crystal Mines
Year:1798
Scootaloo walked out of the save room with Twilight as they went back to the Ominess Garden... but Scootaloo had an idea, "Let's go to the inverted castle, save to say but we might find something there that could help you better in a combat situation," Scootaloo suggested even knowing that the inverted castle was a harder place that the normal one.

Safe to say Twilight couldn't have objected less.

Area: Bloodstone Mines
Year: 1798

Upon stepping out of the location inverter and moving in the direction of the area where Pinkie was fought, there was another door with a glitched version of a balloon on it, entering the area didn't change area but it did offer something. A "normal" Pinkie Pie who was actually an illusion made to act as the "inverted" version of the hybridized, "Greetings fillies and gentlecolts, what can this bright pink party pony do for you?" Inverted Pie, as the duo called her, said pulling a stand that said "Mo's" on it from thin air... who was Mo?

No matter, Scootaloo walked up to Inverted Pie who held up a sign that read "Now accepting bits..." makes this easier since they had a lot of bits from through the journey. "Uhm... I'm just going to ask if you have any armor that helps me out a decent chuck... and maybe a weapon," to which Inverted Pie nodded, "17300 bits please," which Scootaloo handed easily, getting Twilight both a really good cloak, a good hat, and a decent tome weapon called the Tome of Arms(specifically it was Tome of Arms 3).

Scootaloo also spent some extra bits on healong potions before the two left the little shop and went to where the Rarity door was and found another quint area, "No no, this won't do at all, much too drab for Chaos' tastes," the Inverted Rarity said while looking over a colorful picture... if that was drab, they don't wanna know what isn't drab. Before Twilight and Scootaloo could leave, the Inverted Rarity stopped them, "I'm so sorry darling but your quest will have to wait because I need some help coming up with a new monster type for Chaos..." the Inverted Rarity asserted, giving them her role as monster creator, or well, monster concept creator.

"Hmm, well, what's the most dangerous thing you can think of?" Twilight asked as she and Scootaloo were kind of wanted to help. They had a closer look at the Inverted Rarity while she thought, the Inverted Rarity had a completely unkept style, as if fashion wasn't her priority, her coat was a slightly creepy off-white with blood splatters of various colors kinda thrown about, and her eyes, a dark red as if to symbolize that she belongs to the castle's core and nowhere else.

"Well that's the thing, I seem to have lost my spark, Chaos needs at least one new monster every century and I'm completely without one to give..." Inverted Rarity said, giving Scootaloo an idea, "Well, why not a spellcasting zombie or something along those lines?" Scootaloo suggested, which seemed to give Inverted Rarity to go off of, "A spellcasting zombie... well, technically Chaos did that during Alucard's solo quest but not as a common enemy... hmm... maybe I could... yeah, yeah, IIIDDDEEEAAAA!" Inverted Rarity said as she started painting on the canvas with multi-colored bloods creating what could only be described as a zombie impersonating Twilight when she was a unicorn... at least it looked cool.

Scootaloo and Twilight were gifted with items and bits and left the room as they made their way to the inverted Ominess Gardens.

Area: Harmony Garden
Year: 1798

When entering what Twilight and Scootaloo called the Harmony Garden, Twilight immediately dashed for Fluttershy's room.

Scootaloo and Twilight entered to see a bat pony Fluttershy scolding a bat for eating two fruit instead of one, "Must I tell you everytime that unless you earn it, you can only eat one fruit per day!" she yelled with a fury completely absent in Fluttershy. The bat apologetically squeaked. Inverted Fluttershy looked towards Scootaloo and Twilight, "Ugh, what? Do you want to have me train your pathetic excuse of a familiar or what?" She spoke in annoyence. "Actually... it's about information regarding the last hybridized pony and the guardian of the key to it," Scootaloo stated.

Inverted Fluttershy really seemed to be unable to care less. "Oh, Blue Fast, she's at the Castle keep, you can only reach her through this castle, as for the guardian, I think White Creative was working on it or something," Inverted Fluttershy(Implied to be called Yellow Foster due to the role she has) said as Scootaloo nodded and left the room with Twilight while having to avoid attacks from Corpseweeds(Which had actual pony heads in place of the human ones, Scootaloo still hates Corpseweeds because of their gunk shooting abilities.)

Scootaloo and Twilight fought through the Harmony Garden and eventually got to where there's a save point in the Ominess Garden which revealed a larger area containing access to a save point and even a boss door.

Scootaloo got the axe subweapon and went into the boss room.

When Scootaloo entered the boss room, at first it seemed empty but then vines sprouted all around the room and eventually a giant flower creature sprouted on the ceiling(floor). One attack to this thing revealed its name to be Supergrowth. Supergrowth made some of the vines around the room start trying to attack Scootaloo while also throwing down some Une and Corpseweeds. "Ugh... I can already tell I don't like this boss..." Scootaloo commented as she finished off a Corpseweed.

Scootaloo cast Petra Spirit as Supergrowth closed its petals seeming to make the damage null. Safe to say Scootalop wasn't happy... she flapped her wings to get to Supergrowth and waited for the petals to open before chucking axes at it. She got three in before the vines started trying to attack her again.

But then she had an idea. It's a plant based boss, she has Hellfire as a spell... what's stopping her from burning the plant to the ground?

Scootaloo trotted to the center of the room, now being directly under Supergrowth, and she lit her horn to cast Hellfire, hitting a vine and causing a chain reaction of Supergrowth burning down... Scootaloo watching with a smirk on her face. At the end of the fight... she just got an HP up. "Oh well, this was an optional battle but at least I'm not leaving empty hoofed,"

Scootaloo nodded as she looked towards Twilight, handing her the HP up, "Drink that," Scootaloo stated, which Twilight responded with a nod and she drank it.

As they went farther, they found that they couldn't go beyond the Harmony Garden as there are any more open doors and this means they can't visit the Inverted Applejack to see what she's like.

Area: Ominess Garden
Year: 1798

The stay here was not very long as they immediately started towards the top, towards the Castle Keep.

Area: Floating Graveyard
Year: 1798

Upon entering the area Scootaloo's calling the Floating Graveyard. This area was very short. It went up about 3 floors with the final floor having the warp room, a save room, and the boss room. But they weren't going there yet, most of the enemies needed for Estella's potion materials were in this specific area. So they grinded.

And after getting about 15 of the 17 materials in this area, they both really wanted to finish this up. Maybe one of them should have had a Lucky Charm to boost their LUK.

It took about 30 minutes but now it's over. 17 of the 17 in this area were acquired. Just three more that were going to be in the Castle Keep. Twilight teleported to the Library of Souls to give the materials to Estella and returned with several things including a new magic cloak that was hers and hers alone. They called that the Harmony Cloak. They entered the boss room.

All Scootaloo and Twilight saw upon entering the boss room was a familiar sight... a unicorn Twilight, she turned her head towards Scootaloo and Twilight before doing a shushing gesture. The fake Twilight cast a shield that blocked damage but told them it's name, Darklight.

Darklight, like Twilight was as a unicorn, seemed like a prodigy at what magic she used. Every attack was carefully calculated for precision to deal the most damage, even just firing hard magic was a calculated decision. But Darklight seemed to have the same magic limit as Scootaloo and Twilight... her MP. While it did have a lot, it wasn't unlimited has shown by it using a Mana Prism.

"Ugh, why did this monster have to be so damn good at using projectiles?" Twilight commented when Scootaloo used reflect to block damage and even reflect it back to Darklight.

Darklight's shield took the hit which used MP. "Attack the shield a hell of a lot, if we can, we'll drain her of her MP before she can use a Mana Prism and deal some damage," Scootaloo said as she got closer to Darklight to attack with her Fatal Wind, Twilight nodded and flared her wings to fire many small magic balls.

To say the overwhelmed the shield would be a lie. But they did destroy it and Darklight seemed to not even notice. While Darklight was using a Mana Prism, Scootaloo and Twilight bombarded Darklight with attacks. It died not long later.

The familiar scene of a kay falling down and one look at the key did confirm... they saved Rainbow Dash for last. Grabbing the key with it's red lightning bolt jewel, they left.

Area: Castle Keep
Year: 1798

Entering the Castle Keep proved what Scootaloo thought, all the enemies that had materials still, were in this area. Interestingly, there was a door that just didn't exist and another that was blocked by bone trees.

The one that didn't exist would probably open upon beating Rainbow Dash, and the bone trees would disappear upon defeating Apple Bloom. So left and right weren't options... just straight ahead.

Luckily they found the warp room and a save point before they had to fight Rainbow Dash.

Area: Rainbow's room?
Year: 1798

For once Apple Bloom was nowhere to be seen, instead they just saw Rainbow Dash in the center of the room... as a ghost. "Rainbow Dash? What's going on?" Scootaloo said trying to sound as innocent as possible considering she knows full well what is. However Rainbow Dash floated up and out of reach before flying at hyper-sonic speeds, grabbing objects and throwing them towards Scootaloo and Twilight.

"Did they?! Did they actually mame sure she was near impossible to hit?!" Twilight asked in shock as she tried shooting a ball of magic at Rainbow but she moved right past it. Rainbow retailiated by throwing a chair at her.

"Now I see why they saved her for last... she's going to be the hardest to even hit!!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she tried using Petra Spirit on Rainbow... it missed.

Twilight tried the Stopwatch and it didn't even slow Rainbow Dash down so Apple Bloom thought of everything.

This was not meant to be easy. The two noticed that Rainbow Dash stopped moving when she threw something but she started moving again immediately upon throwing it... well, not immediately but near immediately.

That would have to be the opportunity to attack. The problem was that they couldn't predict when Rainbow Dash would throw something, she moved too fast and stopped moving randomly to throw something.

And sadly it didn't seem like her ego could be used as a weapon this time... Fabricator was an egomaniac similiar to Rainbow but Rainbow wasn't doing anything but running on instinct and lies.

She was the secret weapon. So Scootaloo waited patiently while Twilight tried and failed to attack Rainbow Dash. When Rainbow stopped, Scootaloo teleported and attacked her from the air. Ending the fight immediately.

Twilight immediately saved Rainbow just to avoid having to suffer that again and when it was over. Scootaloo and Twilight were teleported.

Area: Castle Keep
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Twilight were in front of the save room. When they both nodded. They went and saved.

Area: Fatal Arena
Year: 1798

Apple Bloom sat in her arena, all of the mane 6 members who were saved through Scootaloo's adventure were in the stands. "Come at meh, ya fuckin' chicken."

Author's Note

Areas discovered: Harmony Garden, Floating Graveyard, Castle Keep, Rainbow's room?

Bosses beaten: Supergrowth(Optional), Darklight, Rainbow Ghoul.

Hybridized ponies met: Twilight(Spellbook, Fluttershy(Giant Bat), Applejack(Werewolf), Rarity(Golem), Pinkie Pie(Doppleganger), Rainbow Dash(Ghost)

All hybridized ponies met and saved!

This adventure's nearing the end... get ready. Arc 2's finale is soon.

Also, the inverted castle in this story is called "The Invertation" which is also based on fixing my problems with the Inverted Castle from SotN because it was pretty dumb to me.

Chapter 13: Boss rush?

Area: Castle Keep
Year: 1798

Scootaloo walked out of the save room, nodding to Twilight as she and her did the required grinding to get the last ingredients... except one for some reason. "Will we actually have another area to go through?" Scootaloo said in distain.

Twilight sadly nodded.

Area: Fatal Arena
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Twilight entered an area with 6 different paths, one door was blocked up. Scootaloo and Twilight entered one door and found... Fabricator? The door sealed behind them as if it was a boss fight. "Scootaloo, Twilight. I'm sure you're confused. Well, Apple Bloom has decided to have you fight all of the bosses from throughout your adventure back-to-back. But I'm not fighting for her, I want to see how you two have grown since that first fight, Scootaloo. So, en garde," Fabricator said as they snapped.

Scootaloo nodded as she started with a dash attack that she intended to stop but Fabricator snapped and held her in place by the silver necklace Fabricator has given her before, "Don't get cocky now, little fil- ARGH!" Fabricator was interrupted by Twilight hitting him with a cross which, while effective, wasn't as effective as they hoped.

"Okay, good to know, you're one of the few things not weak to holy," Twilight said causing Fabricator to laugh, "You thought that just cause I'm a demon that I'm naturally unholy didn't you? Not how it works, bookworm," Fabricator spoke as he tosses Twilight up into the air with a strange energy.

Luckily for the duo, Scootaloo was still free and attacked with Fatal Wind and then used Petra Spirit. "Don't get too cocky now, Fabricator," Scootaloo said and using the chance that Fabricator was so low to drop down some holy water, which Twilight had given her before the fight, to hurt him.

"My god, as a team you two are powerful. But you two haven't shared your full power as a team. I can sense it. Scootaloo knows what I'm talking about," Fabricator said as he snapped making their weapons disappear(for now at least) and Scootaloo looked at Twilight... before getting an idea. Twilight was just confused.

Scootaloo nodded and pointed her hoof at both Twilight and a vile of holy water, basically saying, "You need to Dual Crush with me," causing Twilight to be hesitant because it'd be the first Dual Crush these two have done but... she nodded anyways.

Scootaloo tossed her holy water towards Twilight who grabbed it in her magic before doing the same to the next five, Twilight then put all 6 into a much larger flask and threw it up as then flask landed on Fabricator, it started an inside downpour of holy water dealing plenty of damage to Fabricator.

When the attack ended, Fabricator had a laugh, "Oh my god, yeah, you all have probably given me the most fun battle in a couple years," Fabricator said as he took his hood down, revealing a lack of eyes, "You both remind me so damn much of a friend I used to have called Wilter, maybe I should go and apologize for how I turned my back on him when he needed me most... regardless, I thank you both, you both helped me to see that I wasn't exactly the nicest... it also helped that Apple Bloom in this world is a fucking bitch. Should you require of my abilities..." Fabricator tossed a card towards Twilight and Scootaloo, "... feel free to reach out," Fabricator finished as he snapped and vanished in a dark portal.

The next target was a familiar sight in a not so familiar room. Portraits all across the walls in a much larger room... the refight with Portrait Pony.

The portraits shook before forming the familiar sight. The giant portrait formed unicorn in its larger arena to allow it to move and summon painting ponies.

"Twilight, make sure to attack the horn with slashing attacks. The axe works best, speaking of, could I get the axe?" Scootaloo commented as Twilight gave both her and Scootaloo the axe. Scootaloo started flapping her wings to get to the top so she could throw axes at the horn while Twilight dealt with the painting ponies that spawned and threw axes at the hooves to eventually break them.

But that plan was before Scootaloo realized Portrait Pony could start charging energy into its horn and fire it as a massive lazer beam, causing Scootaloo to duck down out of the way. "That's new, is it because we're in a bigger area now?" Scootaloo asked, mainly to herself, but the movement of it's hoof towards Twilight caused Scootaloo to slow it down with her Hellfire but, like she did during the first fight where Infernal Darkness merged with Petra Spirit, Hellfire merged with a spell Scootaloo has used only once to test it, Dark Metamorphesis, creating what Scootaloo named Metamorphos Flame which dealt dark damage but also inflicted a flaming status.

"So strange that both of the times I've fought this boss have resulted in me combining two spells to make a new one, I feel like that is just so unlucky," Scootaloo commented as the hooves on Portrait Pony's left side burn away and cause a chain reaction leading to its death.

They both feel like Portrait Pony will return in the future.

They went to tackle Darklight next.

Darklight couldn't have changed that much... right?

Darklight did the expected shushing gesture before she used a cursing spell preventing Scootaloo and Twilight from using magic...

So it was like that, was it?

Darklight aimed her horn at Scootaloo as Scootaloo jumped up a few times before hitting her square in the head causing a retalitation through a lazer beam, Twilight went up and hit Darklight with the power of her Tome of Arms 3(It opened to reveal various weapons), and revealed that like anypony... Darklight was weak to slash damage which Twilight assumed the Tome of Arms dealt.

Scootaloo proceeded to attack Darklight with Fatal Wind as Darklight turned towards Scootaloo and unloaded several thunderbolts into her dealing a shit ton of damage.

Darklight really is trying to go for the kill.

Twilight hit Darklight and got her attention while Scootaloo got ready to attack again. This time though, Scootaloo used a super powered dash attack lifting the silencing of her magic, "That's interesting, we can actually get rid of this?" Twilight said as she grabbed hold of her weapon and got ready to attack. However Darklight's body started glowing, causing Twilight to notice what that plan was, "A KAMIKAZE SPELL!"

And so Twilight and Scootaloo ran off as Darklight literally blew herself up in a last ditch effort.

Scootaloo gave the resulting HP max to Twilight who needed it more than her.

The next battle Scootaloo and Twilight tackled was the Shadowfreight.

And boy was this one much harder. The Shadowfreight now summons balls of shadow and even a new enemy the group was called a Shadow since it looked like something Sombra'd command.

The shadows were also weak to sliding like Sombra was. Shadowfreight took the chance where Scootaloo and Twilight were distracted to put Twilight in a nightmare that was leagues harder than the original ones... luckily Twilight was in no hurry aside from Scootaloo and her needing to deal damage.

Even the celestial damned horse heads weren't that tough to deal with. And she reached the light to expel Shadowfreight from her body. Scootaloo and Twilight got off a round of hits before Shadowfreight flew through a wall and thus out of range.

"How much you wanna bet that Shadowfreight and Gravitor are only a part of this to waste our time?"

"Now that isn't a fair bet because it's clear that's what they are here for."

Shadowfreight returned and did a dash move leaving a trail of shadows in its wake. It did another one and then the leftover trails started turning clockwise, it actually hurt like hell to touch the shadow trails so Scootaloo and Twilight were incouraged to follow them.

Then they switch directions where Scootaloo and Twilight had less than a second to respond. "Okay, is it just me or is the Shadowfreight actually hard now?" Twilight asked and, she wasn't wrong. The Shadowfreight's patterns completely changed to become offensive whereas its previous moveset was purely supportive. "Yeah, it's definitely much more offensive now with attacks that hurt like actual hell," Scootaloo said as she dodged a shadow beam from the Shadowfrieght.

This fight turned from "in-and-out" to "Actual survival challenge".

Scootaloo used a small break period in Shadowfreight's attacks to summon the Petra Spirits which dealt decent damage, in the same break Twilight opened her wings and summoned multiple small balls of light magic which dealt BIG damage.

This gave Scootaloo an idea, when the Shadowfreight dashed at her, she waited in its path and let it into her mind.

Scootaloo stood on strange grounds, it looked like a floating segment of Dracula's castle refitted for battle. The Shadowfreight floated above the air that had an odd barrier at the bottom, Scootaloo suspected that she'd have to avoid falling off or that'd be instant death.

The Shadowfreight's voice spoke out "SO YOU'VE CHOSEN TO FACE THE FEARS YOU'VE BUILT UP? BOLD LITTLE PONY, AREN'T YOU SCOOTALOO?" Its voice could be mistaken for Nightmare Moon's if you didn't know what it was nor saw Nightmare Moon yourself, but Scootaloo found herself unable to speak so she simply nodded, "AND YET, YOU KNEW THE CONSQUENCES OF THIS ACTION. SO WHY DID YOU LET ME IN?" It added as Scootaloo felt her throat open up to speak, "I knew I could win, but also... because I know you have knowledge of the future. You're a pony who's lost their way and become nothing but a monster who kills in nightmares. Tell me, Shadowfreight... tell me. After Sweetie Belle in this adventure, what comes next?" Scootaloo asked.

The Shadowfreight revealed its original form, a purple pony Scootaloo heard about, Shadow Hunter, "I WILL GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION YOU SEEK. YOU WILL ASSIST A GIRL WHO CAN USE A POWER OF MANA TO MAKE ANYTHING POWER, THEN YOU WILL HELP THE HEIR TO THE VAMPIRE KILLER AND A MAGICIAN DEFEAT A VAMPIRE ARTIST AND DRACULA, THEN YOU WILL STOP SWEETIE BELLE AGAIN, AND THEN YOU WILL BE ASKED TO ASSIST IN 1999 TO SEAL DRACULA'S CASTLE IN A SOLAR ECPLISE, AND LASTLY, YOU WILL HELP ONE WITH THE POWER TO STEAL AND USE MONSTERS' SOULS TWICE. I HAVE ONE REQUEST TO YOU, SCOOTALOO," The Shadow Hunter looked at Scootaloo as she nodded saying as if telling him to "go ahead".

"TAKE MY ESSENCE AND ACCEPT MY HELP AS AN ACCESSORY OR ARMOR OR SOMETHING, IN THIS STATE, I JUST HOLD MYSELF BACK, THE SHADOWFREIGHT AND I ARE ONE IN THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT. ALL I ASK IS FOR YOU TO TAKE ME AND DO YOUR STRONGEST," He said, as Scootaloo agreed, "Is there a special Tome you can become? If so, please do." she said as Shadow Hunter nodded the scene ended.

Shadowfreight was expelled from Scootaloo's body as the Tome of Shadows appeared suddenly, "A Tome of Shadows? I thought all copies vanished as the Shadow Hunter did," Twilight said as Scootaloo got up and used a dash attack to attack the monster, infusing an amount of light magic into it. Twilight looked at the threat and launched a big ball of light magic.

Shadowfreight turned to a shadowy dust with an audiable hiss.

All that was left was Gravitor. The fight that followed was literally just the first fight except there were spikes on the roof. Simple and easy.

All that was left was Apple Bloom who now had an open door as all the others where shut. Scootaloo and Twilight entered.

The first thing Scootaloo and Twilight noticed was the fact that all the ponies they saved were in the stands and yet, only Pinkie was awake as she was attempting to wake the others up. Scootaloo turned her attention to Apple Bloom who was floating in the arena, "Ya'll completed everythin' till now, ya'll ruined mah prefect hybridization plan, ah planned ta help Sweetie in takin' control of all of Equestria... and ya'll ruined it... ya'll ruined all of it. Ya defeated Fabricator and converted 'im. Ya'll went out of yer fuckin' way ta save all of our hybridizated. Well ah'm. Fuckin'. Through. Ya wanna be a pain in our asses, than suffa a million fates," Apple Bloom said as she summoned her scythe and struck the ground summoning a bone tree.

All of the ponies in the stands were awake(albeit groggily) and now looking towards Apple Bloom and Scootaloo... and Twilight. They watched as the battle started, Scootaloo dashing while Twilight opens her wings and shoot magical balls, "Woah! When did Twilah have those kinds a power?" Applejack asked when she saw Twilight's new tricks. The ponies watched Scootaloo and Twilight fight, even being shocked when Scootaloo activated Reflect.

"I don't know, but I'm glad they beat our asses!" Rainbow said.

"Oh it feels so much better not feeling like I have 60 different personalities at once, now it's only 30 different personalities," Pinkie commented as they watched, seeing Scootaloo used a new version of Petra Spirit which summoned some light spirits which dealt rather decent damage to Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo used a light damage enfused dash attack to damage Apple Bloom who countered with a strike using her scythe which was followed by throwing the scythe, while Twilight tried sending a giant homing light ball while avoiding the mini-scythes that were all around.

"Scootaloo, let us go with a holy water dual crush," Twilight said as she summoned a vile of holy water which Scootaloo grabbed and threw 6 out so Twilight could add them into one vile activating Twilight and Scootaloo's version of Hydrostorm.

The storm of holy rain dealt hit after hit on Apple Bloom but when it ended, Apple Bloom kneeled on the ground, yet... Twilight felt like it wasn't over for some reason...

And they saw why soon. Apple Bloom shook as she laughed and soon her form was enveloped in darkness which expanded her, making her monsterous and wielding a much much much larger scythe than before.

If there was a word to describe Apple Bloom's new form... it'd be deadly.

Twilight opened her wings to fire many small light projectiles as Scootaloo summoned Petra Spirit.

The fight ended.

"... what was the point of the build up just for it to be over like that?" Twilight asked as Scootaloo shrugged.

They went and saved.

Author's Note

Area discovered: Fatal Arena.

Boss beaten: Apple Bloom.

References: Dracula's Castle stage from Smash Bros Ultimate.

So... that happened. I did this because I always felt the boss rush mode could be added to the plot despite how odd it may feel. Do you feel like all appearences of Castlemania should have a boss rush chapter or no?

And yes, I intentionally built up to a super cool second form just to disappoint. :pinkiecrazy:

Also, maybe the Shadow Hunter will return in Scootaloo's dreams.

Chapter 14...?: Towards the top of the castle(mania)

Area: ???
Year: ???

A small filly, orange coat, pegasus, purple mane, stood outside of the imposing castle as she gulped, her worst fears were true... her happily ever after ended. She ran off, she ran and ran and ran until she found and fell through a portal.

Area: Deep Space
Year: ???

When the filly's eyes opened she found herself floating in space, it was so pretty up close...

Orange Wonder sat there and wondered how much was out in this universe and she didn't even notice the equipment she had had vanished, she didn't want to be a fighter anyways.

One thing was painfully clear though... she was alone. She was also kinda trapped in deep space, meaning if she tried to breathe... she'd die. Not a pleasent image.

Orange Wonder tried to do swimming motions but... it wasn't clear if that did anything. She kept trying things until she eventually passed out for holding her breath so long...

Area: ... idfk at this point tbh
Year: does anyone even read this?

When Orange Wonder awoke again, she wasn't in the middle of space anymore... no, she was in a brightly colored area that felt like a foal's dream, albeit slightly confusing. There were colors... but not anything even really existed but the colors. She looked at the strange place and trotted, before stopping herself from stepping onto spikes, "Who the hay put these here?" Orange Wonder said, lightly tapping the spikes.

Stop, Orange Wonder was getting sidetracked... but maybe doing a bit more invesigation couldn't hurt...

Orange Wonder trotted through the area again, this area now seemed to be mainly yellow but there were small hints of the other colors as well. In fact, looking at the area around Scootaloo made it look like the area was painted by a foal... with the except of the spikes and random space-y looking junk.

There were also enemies here, not as much as in Chaos Castle but still a lot. Orange Wonder just ran at the first sight of trouble, it wasn't long though... before she saw something interesting. An unfamiliar pony, a white furred one with a dual tone pink and purple who also happened to be an alicorn, was on display on a display screen in this area. The alicorn filly fought with vigor and courage at the sight of the robots and she flught without breaking a sweat... maybe...

Orange Wonder stopped herself from touching it, it's unknown technology Orange Wonder, we shouldn't touch it incase we get our brains scrambled, she told herself...

Shame Orange Wonder had too much to wonder about. She touched the screen and get a much closer look at the battle but... none of the creatures, nor the filly, even paid her any mind... an illusion spell...

Whenever the robots were defeated, a small animal was released. Orange Wonder could hear all the creatures speaking but couldn't understand a word... the illusion ended before Orange Wonder could see the big bad but now she was wondering who would do such a thing to poor little animals...

That's when she became acutely aware of the appearence of her other half... Black Heart, "So you've seen an outside world, we have no need to interfere with their adventures." He(Black Heart was a he) said but now Orange Wonder was wondering even more, "But why?! I saw poor little animals trapped in strange robots unlike anything Chaos Castle had seen!" Orange Wonder said... feeling acutely aware of what Black Heart wanted.

Black Heart shook his head, "Naïveté only gets you in danger, if you could get to that world, what could a pacifist like you do?" Black Heart said mockingly... Black Heart knew how to make Orange Wonder feel like the Nobody she was just as she knew just how Heartless Black Heart was... that emblem for their cutie marks give it away...

Orange Wonder was the body, Black Heart was her heart. Plain and simple. "You wanna know what I'd do? Fight like my life, no, my heart depends on it!" Orange Wonder said as her equipment returned to her.

"Interesting... oh so interesting... alright. I'll give you a reason to go interfere. Find me as I search for the ultimate darkness." Black Heart said as he vanished.

Orange Wonder felt herself be picked up and soon she was being displaced as well.

Area: Twilight Town
Year: ???

Orange Wonder groggily woke up as she realized she was someplace entirely new to her... a place she'll get to know well.

Warning: This was a joke chapter but that doesn't mean it's non-canon. All I'll say... expect a KH story soon.

Author's Note

Areas discovered: ?????????

Bosses Beaten: None.

Be ready.

Chapter 14(real): Castlemania's mistress' second fall

Area: Castle Keep
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Twilight stepped out onto the giant staircase leading to the top, Twilight looked down and saw her friends waiting at the exit of the castle. Scootaloo beckoned her up the staircase and Twilight followed her up.

Sweetie Belle took a sip from her glass as Scootaloo and Twilight entered the throne room, "So you both have arrived, wonderful. After all the pain Apple Bloom went through... it still did nothing. You two are assholes you know? I had hoped that she could have proven able to flip this mistake of a situation... but she failed. Fabricator changed sides, Estella was worthless, even the demons made for this castle from Equestrian history weren't good enough. You two have proven how much of a pain in the ass you are. And now? You both are here to defeat me, Vampire Lady Sweetie Belle. Shame, I thought you'd both listen to reason, guess that was too much."

"Reason?! What makes you a voice of reason?! If anything Scootaloo is more of a voice of reason than you! Scootaloo's a filly, a reckless one at that, and yet she didn't become a monster like you who desires to kill the world!" Twilight spoke with a vigorousity that Scootaloo, nigh, anypony or anyone, hadn't seen before. She put emphasis on words that normally she wouldn't have emphasized and yet... Scootaloo knew she meant every word.

"Is that so? What's saying she won't? She and Alucard are counterparts now. Both are half vampire so given the right... motivation... she could become just as bad, if not worse than me."

"You fail to see her point. Yes, if I was given the right motive I could be as bad as you, but I also know better than to let the darkness control me. Sweetie Belle, you fell into the darkness out of desire, I'd fall into darkness out of neccessity, we are not the same. I use the darkness as a tool for good, you use it as a force for evil, we will never be the same."

"Then I guess I have nothing more to say to you. Have at you!" She said as she threw her wine glass to the floor and teleported.

That caused the fight to start properly. Scootaloo grabbed Fatal Wind as Twilight started preparing a fire ball spell. When Sweetie laughed and appeared again Scootaloo attacked her head while Twilight fired the fire ball spell that Sweetie Belle reflected back.

"What the hay? She can use your Reflect spell?" Twilight said quizzingly as Scootaloo nodded.

"Duh, she's a unicorn, a reflect spell should be simple for her, I wasn't the first to make one, you know," Scootaloo Responded as she dodged being slashed by Sweetie's magic claw.

Twilight now felt stupid for not realizing how stupid that question was. Twilight threw a flask of holy water down as the sparks spread out making her holy water good at area control. Only disadvantage was that the flask had to touch the ground to spread the sparks.

Sweetie laughed again as she appeared behind Twilight and cast three hellfires from behind her in a pattern the reminded Scootaloo of Dracula's hellfire. Twilight did get burned by it, although it wasn't too damaging for her due to her high MND stat.

In fact, the only really damaging attack for Twilight was the magic slash since Twilight's DEF was low. Turns out cloaks aren't the best defensively, who the hell knew.

Sweetie Belle even used some new tricks, when she turned into the bats she sometimes dashed once, just forwards, or twice, forwards and the backwards. She sometimes sang a song which, while doing nothing to Scootaloo, put Twilight right to sleep, probably because the book worm stayed awake all night far more often than was healthy. Scootaloo kept fighting, using a mix of magic and Fatal Wind.

Sweetie Belle wasn't even showing signs of wear and tear as if she was just regenerating... regenerating... Scootaloo thought... as she noticed something, she attacked Sweetie Belle in the head and she didn't even react nor focus on Scootaloo. A single dash attack proved her right... "It was a god damn fake, she tricked us," Scootaloo shook Twilight awake.

"Wha huh? Did we defeat Sweetie Belle?"

"No, we were fighting a fake. Chances are I know where the real one is," Scootaloo teleported Twilight to a location invertor before entering... The invertation.

Area: Harmony Garden
Year: 1798

Twilight and Scootaloo looked around as the lack of monsters in the Harmony Gardens was... kinda unsettling, not gonna lie.

The group moved to see all pathways were now open, "Let's pay a visit to the rest of our inverted friends," Scootaloo said as she entered the library, Twilight nodding and following afterwards.

Area: Lost Library
Year: 1798

In the Lost Library there were a massive amount of new enemies with some familiar faces like Final Guards. Twilight went towards where Estella Moon should be located while Scootaloo went towards the Inverted Applejack.

Twilight going solo wasn't the best idea but she eventually found Estella's room was blocked by a boss door... meaning Estella Moon's a boss in the invertation. Twilight felt strong enough to deal with it.

Upon entering the boss room, the inverted Estella Moon was busy making a brew, "Oh? A mortal has entered my room while I was in the middle of my brew? Perfect! I'm just missing a heart to perfect it. A pony heart." Estella grabbed a potion and threw it towards Twilight as it broke on the ground and left fire on the ground.

"An alchemical brew... interesting..." Twilight said to herself as she coughed out a page that actually reminded her that alchemical brews are nothing to be cocky about. She knew... just knew... that fire brews weren't the end of the picture.

Twilight opened her wings and launched many mini spheres at the Inverted Estella Moon. While Estella took many of the hits, she didn't even seem to flinch as she threw a brew that released a small amount of poison gas.

Twilight used the Tome of Shadows to attack Estella and while it didn't do amazing damage, it was fast and spammable so... it was good enough for now.

Estella eventually got desperate after being damaged enough and drank a brew which made her much stronger. It didn't help. Twilight grabbed and drank the HP up and moved on.

Twilight exited the boss room as Scootaloo got back, "Turns out, Orange Fool, which is the inverted Applejack, had the last ingredient we needed. I'm guessing you fought an easy boss?" she said as Twilight nodded. Scootaloo went to find a location invertor for the library to give the last ingredients to Estella Moon(The normal one).

It took Scootaloo a couple moments but she returned with a witch's hat that she gave to Twilight, "Estella gave me that for helping her, figured you'd get more use from it than I would," Scootaloo explained as they went to the next unexplored area of the inverted castle.

Area: Falling Graveyard
Year: 1798

When Scootaloo and Twilight saw the upside down graves on what ceiling of the inverted castle, they didn't bother asking questions. They went through the short area and reached the top where they just moved on to the Castle Drop(Inverted Castle Keep).

Area: Castle Drop
Year:1798

Scootaloo went in and found the inverted Rainbow Dash(Blue Fast) just roaming the halls with a stern look on her face. Twilight and Scootaloo just went to where the final battle was to happen. The inverted throne room.

The entry was more difficult... if they didn't have the ability to teleport that is.

Within the Throne Room, Sweetie Belle awaited, and now, it was time to finish what was started in Castlevania.

Sweetie Belle started the fight with a double bat dash and teleported to use Magic Claw on Twilight. Scootaloo used the brief moments to attack Sweetie Belle who did react to being attacked this time. She sang a lullaby and put Twilight to sleep but wasn't expecting Scootaloo to use Rushing Darkness which dealt hefty damage.

Sweetie Belle literally didn't see most of this fight coming but then, suddenly, she healed up all of the damage she'd taken. "There's... you gotta be kidding me... you have a healing spell?" Scootaloo said in annoyence.

"I wanted to avoid using my second form too early because that was mine and Dracula's downfall last time, we hadn't prepared for loss so we didn't have a way to postpone using our second forms. This time I do. You will lose tonight Scootaloo. Either by joining me or by death, you'll lose the battle." Sweetie Belle started attacking again, this time with a new form of vigor and Twilight awoke just in time to see it... Twilight immediately used a light orb to attack and the attack hit and stunned Sweetie Belle.

"Ha! Got you with my light magic!" Twilight said just proving to anger Sweetie Belle, "Insolent Alicorn! You want to fight, I'll show you a god forsaken fight!" The vampire filly said as she gathered her magic to use Magic Claw... only to be attacked by Scootaloo.

"First rule of combat: never take your eyes off the biggest threat," Scootaloo commented. Sweetie Belle couldn't believe that she thought Twilight had actually gotten cocky and let her eyes moves from Scootaloo so she could attack... Sweetie Belle chuckled.

"Hehehehe... you insolent fools think you've won? No no no no.. you see... the battle has only just begun.

YOU WILL SEE WHAT YOUR INSOLENCE HAST BRED IN YOUR FATES!" She announced as she transformed into her giant Alicorn Dragon Demon form thing. Her fire and soul based attacks had definitely grown stronger as Scootaloo and Twilight had a hard time dodging them. Scootaloo turned into a bat and did a Wing Smash to attempt to be victorious. It did next to nothing.

"Ugh damn, she is not making this easy. Why doesn't she just die?" Scootaloo commented after being untransformed. She also get slashed after that comment by Sweetie Belle's claw.

Twilight fired a beam of light at Sweetie Belle... it did next to nothing. Scootaloo embued her weapon with light, next to nothing. They did a Dual Crush of holy water. Next to nothing. It was as if Sweetie Belle didn't want to die... well, she doesn't but it's like she has no honor in lettung herself lose in a quick manner. Scootaloo jumped over flamethrower like flames and attacked again.

After the attack, Sweetie's eyes went from deep red to deep green and Twilight took the chance to see... the beam of light fired actually hit and damaged her for a huge chunk! Scootaloo followed along and realized... "Oh god damn it, it's a survival boss so we wait for the opening..." Scootaloo said aloud having heard of such a thing through Alucard mentioning them at the party "If you run into the case where most of your attacks do next to nothing, wait for something to change then attack, it could be a survival boss."

After realizing that, the fight was really easy. Just dodge how hard- and Twilight's been struck again.

... maybe Scootaloo needs to work a bit on her estimating skills.

Everything Sweetie gave the opening, Scootaloo and Twilight rushed to deal as much damage as possible and after 5 DAMN CYCLES, Sweetie Belle fell as the castle started to crumble.

Area: Ponyville
Year: 1798

Scootaloo teleported herself and Twilight out of the castle and back to Ponyville... she'd done it again. "Did we... did we actually do that?" Twilight asked as the other hybridized mane 6 members came close to them. Twilight went out of her way to undo the hybridization... except Rainbow who had objections, "Woah, uh, Twi, chill, I'm... I'm fine like this. I... I think being this... thing... ain't bad. I... hope you don't mind keeping me this way," she spoke in nothing but... calm acceptence. Rainbow, normally bashful and fast, spoke slowly and calmly, "Plus, I'm pretty sure I was going to die with how often I crash into things anyways, and yes I'm aware of what I'll lose but... it doesn't really matter because in the end, I'll be there when you or Scoots needs it," Dash added as Twilight nodded understandingly.

Scootaloo smiled as she flew off... she'll need to finish school before her next adventure in Europe.

Author's Note

Bosses Beaten: Inverted Estella, Sweetie Belle

Arc 2 complete!

So... you all enjoyed this arc finale did you, did you?! Well, for those who saw the fake chapter 14 with Nobody Orange Wonder and Heartless Black Heart, THEY HAVE THEIR OWN STORY IN KINGDOM HEARTS! Find it here. And expect many things to make little sense, especially considering Roxas is there to try and calm the nightmares. Shame the Heartless won't lay down and die while the group deals with the other major threat. Now while that story isn't entirely canon(Meaning you do not have to read it unless you want KH stuff) to this one aside from staring the Invertation version of Scootaloo, I wanted to share it. Now... for the big question...

When it comes to official Castlevania plotlines, should I change how they work so I don't have to read plot summaries or watch long plays or do you want the official plot changes to only happen because of the existence of Scoots? The only reason I ask is because the next game in the timeline in this story is OoC which I've never even made it halfway in so most of it's plot is completely unknown to me. (Stupid crab boss sucks ass.)

Intermission 2: Strange Dreams

Area: Scootaloo's dream
Year: 1800

Scootaloo trotted through the oddly welcome pure black area of her dream. It'd been two years since Castlemania had appeared and she had gotten used to her life.

She'd become a hero. Whenever the mane 6 were needed, they just sent Scootaloo. Scootaloo nearly killed whoever attempted evil and they regretted ever pissing the filly off.

Scootaloo kept trotting, enjoying the pure black area with no hint of fear. Scootaloo eventually found a mirror of sorts. She looked through and saw... Sweetie Belle. But... it wasn't the same Sweetie Belle she'd known. It was different. This one had wings and a blotch of black, almost night sky looking, ink.

The two stared at each other. When Scootaloo reached out to the mirror... she fell. But she was still in the blackness. Scootaloo picked herself up and found she was on the opposite end and saw the same alicorn Sweetie Belle covered in blood with a bunch of strange unknown monsters behind her. Scootaloo grabbed her rapier in her magic and got ready to fight and the Sweetie Belle grabbed a mechnical looking whip in her magic.

But no fight came... "What in the fresh hell?" They said at the same time. Scootaloo and the alicorn Sweetie Belle attempted to walk towards the other but again, they just changed sides of the mirror. When Scootaloo looked back she saw herself this time as she looked at her hooves which were now an ivory...

The reflection of her walked off and Scootaloo tried to follow... but she couldn't go beyond the mirror. She smacked her hoof against the mirror... again and again... until... it fractured. Showing herself again... fractured. She saw the alicorn Sweetie Belle, fractured. But the alicorn Sweetie Belle unfractured after a bit while Scootaloo... she remained fractured.

Scootaloo found a blue ship with a common imagery of stars all about it fly down and the alicorn Sweetie Belle climbed onto it... and the mirror faded away. "What... was that? Am I... seeing something I shouldn't be? She looked... happy towards the end... her world... it looked untarnished by pain and hate... if I could have a chance to have that kind of world again... would I take the chance?"

Area: Scootaloo's dream
Year: 1805

Scootaloo was trotting through sadly familiar lands. Bright, happy Ponyville. Untouched by monsters and hate. She saw many ponies who were happier here. She'd grown used to her life. These had grown used to their's. She saw this dream version of herself, one who was more innocent than her. She saw the Apple Bloom who had more to show for herself than Scootaloo'd care to admit. And eventually... she saw that face again. That familiar but different face of Sweetie Belle.

No matter how hard Scootaloo wanted to ask her who she really was... her voice got lost. The same applied to the alicorn Sweetie Belle she was looking at. Both were at a lost of words to talk to the other. As if their stories were meant to be- "Mirrors of each other" The Sweetie Belle spoke suddenly. Her voice reminded Scootaloo too much of her opponent. "Mirrors of opposing sides," Scootaloo said. The two continued to stare at each other for moments on end.

The alicorn Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo with a new look in her eyes. "I know you may forget what I said here if we ever meet again in the years to come... but I'm Sweetie Void," Sweetie Void said as Scootaloo nodded her head, "... Scootaloo."

The two sat down and started talking up a storm about the other and, while reluntent, Scootaloo did share her story to the odd alicorn filly that was Sweetie Void. And while they might never meet again... Scootaloo at least got to know her.

Area: Ponyville
Year:1805
The next day.

Scootaloo awoke and grabbed a pencil and her journal. In her journal she started doodling to appearence of her odd friend. She captured every detail as perfectly as possible. The details on the wings, her two-tone mane, her horn, even the blotch. Sadly she forgot some details along the way but she knew... in the distinct future, she'd have a friend to help her if needed.

Author's Note

Yep, now we're in the 1800s baby!

Sweetie Void made another easter egg appearence and sadly, Scoots won't remember much of her by the end of OoE. The dream was yet again in the future so it won't happen for a long while, maybe in 2037 or around that point. Not before though as both Aria and Dawn have to happen before then.

Any ideas for one more intermission chapter since this one was so short? I do think we could pay a visit to the Chaotic Realm(Where Death, Apple Bloom, Dracula, and Sweetie Belle are) and just watch as a new castle is made but let me know your ideas.

Intermission 3: Where Chaos Resides

Area: Chaotic Realm
Year: 1810

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom stared out into the distance of this chaotic plane. The starry sky stretching near endlessly and randomly. "'When anger and frustration stop filling me after each defeat, something worse will come: the boredom of monotony.' Twice. I've lost twice. What did I do wrong the first time or the second?!" Sweetie Belle yelled out that last question.

"You did nothing wrong," Death said as he approached the group, "It was just another case of hero doing things right. If your plan had gone correctly, Scootaloo would not have succeeded," he finished his statement.

"Ah'm sorry... ah underestimated how much DNA would be needed for Twilight ta be willin' ta listen... if anyone should be blamed fer the mistakes made, it's meh," Apple Bloom said, causing Death to laugh.

"You did underestimate, but that is not a failure. You both are new to the scene and didn't plan for variables out of your control, common mistake. Dracula's words reign true that you'll eventually stop feeling frustrated or angry at losing and just feel bored but that shouldn't discourage attempting to learn from the mistakes and getting better," He said but he said it in a way that did cheer up both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.

"Thank you for the words of encouragement, Death, I can see why Dracula keeps you and your kind around," Sweetie Belle commented while knowing that Death was only called Death out of one's preference. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had found multiples of Death, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Death, or at least the current one, knew the progress on the castle and on Chaos.

Time in the Chaotic Realm mostly blurred together, Sweetie Belle had taken to training and attempting to master all kinda of new tricks, such as a song that could, albeit for a short time, hypnotize the hearer into fighting for her. It still wasn't perfect and had many flaws, one such flaw proved... difficult as it didn't work on ponies. Such is the way of being a vampire and mistress of her own castle.

But sometimes Sweetie Belle would see interesting sights. Sights from beyond her universe. A massive flower, a spooky castle, and the remains of a massive robot. All the odd sights usually disappeared after she looked away from them for some reason... and yet seeing those filled her with a strange sense of dread. As if she knows the power that was able to destroy or survive such areas. A part of her wondered why the dread arose but she kept training regardless. She wasn't going to let whatever threat to her plans next get in the way. Accounting for uncontrollable variables isn't hard to do. It's hell to do.

Apple Bloom teleported back from Europe after making sure very little suspected that the supposed "Order of Ecclesia" could do little with their "glyphs." She did not take the news of the triad of glyphs called Dominus being made, but the other news was what made her interested, "Barlowe actually plans ta use Shanoa to revive Dracula and it helps that the Dominus glyphs were made of Dracula's essence. Ah made have also given him a spell ta open portals across universes," Apple Bloom said causing Sweetie Belle to smirk.

"Apple Bloom, how long do we have till the plan can be executed?"

"About 3 years, Dracula's castle will be finished in that time as well, why?"

"Apple Bloom, I need you to find a pony dumb enough to fall for your lies so you could make Barlowe's job easier."

"Got it, Sweetie."

As Apple Bloom teleported to Equestria, Sweetie Belle trained with Dracula appeared, "Still training? Do you not wish to take a break?" He said after Sweetie Belle knocked the 15th Doppleganger out. "I need to keep training to make sure I can defeat whatever threat comes to my plans. No, not just my plans, our plans. No one will stand in our way with what we will do," she spoke as shs sat down, "But a break can't hurt. I assume Death told you everything he learned about what the humans of Europe are doing?" she asked as Dracula nodded.

"That Barlowe, such a clever dog he is. I may have lost many times over, but I am not down yet. I'll have my dark priests on Earth to bring me back, even if it's a... minor benefit," Dracula said as he pulled two wine glasses from a Skeleton Waiter before handing one to Sweetie who gladly took a sip.

"Yeah, I plan to see if Apple Bloom can trick stupid ponies into becoming a similiar case. A way to come back and make Chaos spitting my castle out less random luck," Sweetie added with a chuckle.

Dracula chuckled as well, "I guess most ponies will know better then? To be fair, I don't know if I'd blame them or not after all-"

"What is a man/pony? A miserable little pile of secrets!" Sweetie finished as the Chaotic Realm brought White Creative from the Invertation to the group, her red eyes giving Sweetie the most loyal look. "Mistress Sweetie Belle, shall I send the monsters I was conceptualizing to Dracula's castle for your next plot?" White Creative said as Sweetie and Dracula sipped their wine, "White Creative, did you need to ask such a pointless question? You may be the inverted version of my sister but I will not be afraid to suck every drop of blood from your body," Swedtie Belle replied causing the monster concepting mare to shudder.

"Sorry Mistress, I was... just following protocall. I'll make sure the monsters know that they'll be assigned to Dracula's castle, first thing. Now I need to ask, what do you plan to do with Darklight?"

"Darklight?" Dracula asked.

"Darklight's a zombie impersonating Twilight Sparkle as a zombie, as for what we'll do with her... let's have her guard the castle entrance, she proved to be not as strong as all of us would have liked but she'll definitely stall the threats if they even get to the castle, maybe I find someplace better for her but for now, he'll be at the forefront of defense in the castle," Sweetie Belle remarked as White Creative nodded and left.

Three years... that's all the training time I have left, three years.

Author's Note

So I've decided that while the plot of Ecclesia will be mostly the same, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom will still interfere and make Shanoa and Scootaloo's lives harder.

Ain't that fun?

References: The Dreamstalk(Kirby Series), Thanatos' castle, and one of Eggman's many mega robot suits in that order. If you can see the commonality these three share, good job. Expect more references of this format.

Chapter 15: With the Power of Glyphs!

Area: Ponyville
Year: 1813

Scootaloo was staring down her simulated opponent. She gripped Fatal Wind in her magic as she used a dash attack to start the fight against Doppelganger40 with a head start. As Doppelganger40 tried to attack more, Scootaloo dodged everything, attacking and attacking before defeating it, earning a medal from a hitless completion. "That's... 15 medals now, this isn't going to be hard to learn," She said to herself.

As Scootaloo left the Memory Museum Gallery, she ran into Twilight and Alucard, "Princess? Alucard? What are you both talking about?" Scootaloo asked as Twilight and Alucard turned towards Scootaloo, "Just the mare I wanted to see, Alucard, why don't you tell Scootaloo what's happening?" Twilight said as Alucard, the best friend Scoots had, cleared his throat, "Scoots, it appears that someone is attempting to revive Dracula and I'd go deal with it but I felt you should know," he said as Scootaloo nodded her head.

"Expect me to go and help then."

Area: The Order
Year: 1813

Scootaloo stood outside the imposing building as she felt strong surges of magic from two sources, either people battling together or each other. Scootaloo galloped into the building and went to the top where she found a women in a mainly blue attire with symbols on both her arms and one on her back fighting a man in green robes who seemed to be a magic user.

Then the women summoned a Rapier from nothing with the symbol on her right arm. She remembered what the Shadow Hunter told her about her helping a girl who could use mana to make anything. Scootaloo gripped Fatal Wind with newfound vigor and attacked the magician with all her might, a deadly glare visible in her eyes.

The magician falls as the blue-clad lady looked at him, "Barlowe, why did you do what you did?" Causing Barlowe to laugh. "Simple Shanoa, I needed a sacrifice to bring Dracula back, and I had hoped you would have been that sacrifice... but after everything Albus had done I now realize that my goal was not completible with you..." He stated as he started laughing again, causing both Shanoa and Scootaloo to raise an eyebrow.

"What's so funny, asshole?!" Scootaloo commented as Barlowe approached the statue and sat in a worshipping pose, "I offer myself to bring you back lord of darkness!" He said as he dropped dead and the statue glowed. It soon realized two very familiar faces.

"Dracula, Sweetie Belle. You both returned," Scootaloo commented as the two mentioned teleported away with a laugh, "Argh, damn it! They got away!" Scootaloo turned towards Shanoa who had a face that shown no emotions as if they were removed prior to anything happening.

"Thank you for assisting me against Barlowe, it seems as though we'll need to defeat Dracula and his little pet," her voice held no emotions, a surprise for Scootaloo to be sure. "Well, hope you don't mind me joining along. Name's Scootaloo, someone who defeated Dracula and Sweetie Belle back in 1798," Scootaloo said as Shanoa nodded, "I am Shanoa, a user of glyphs and now the last remaining member of the Order to Ecclesia."

Glyphs... wait, Alucard mentioned Ecclesia one time.

"Wasn't Ecclesia formed to defeat Dracula? Why the hell was Barlowe trying to summon him and Sweetie Belle, both people which this group was, supposedly, to be defeated by them?" Scootaloo asked but Shanoa just shrugged. "I have no idea, from what my brother, Albus, remembered he thought Dracula could save humanity and Sweetie Belle for your species, even going so far as to make Dominus out of Dracula's essence," Shanoa said causing Scootaloo to think for a moment.

Mainly about how stupid Barlowe was but at the end, it don't matter.

Scootaloo starts trotting out and makes sure Shanoa's following her.

Area: Castle Entrance
Year: 1813

Scootaloo and Shanoa stare at the statue at the entrance to the castle, Scootaloo understanding that it was a save point, and saved their progress before moving forward into a boss room? "A boss right as we enter the castle? That's new," Scootaloo commented.

Entering the boss room showed Scootaloo a familiar face. Darklight did her usual shushing motion before casting a shield spell. "An evil pony with magically powers, interesting," Shanoa said as Scootaloo used a dash attack to drain some of Darklight's MP.

Shanoa used her left hand to summon an orb of light(which homed in on the opponent) which Scootaloo recognized that spell as it was one she learned about by reading in Twilight's library. Vol Luminato, a spell long thought lost to ponies, being wielded by a random girl with the power to use glyphs... if this means what Scootaloo thinks it does...

Together, Scootaloo and Shanoa defeat Darklight and it summons a blue triangle with a symbol on it, "... excuse me... what just happened?" Scootaloo asked as Shanoa stood in a way that slowly sucked the symbol towards her and soon, she had acquired a new power. "A new glyph, one that I'm sure Barlowe didn't make," Shanoa said as she used her left hand which fired a blast of hard magic while saying Medeis, "I bet this will have multiple teirs we can find, but for now I think I'll use Vol Luminato as a magic attack."

It's not even 30 minutes into the adventure and Scootaloo is already questioning everything. As a 27 year old mare, this should not be something she needs to do. It helps that she looks 12 still but it also doesn't.

When the two entered the castle proper, Scootaloo noticed just how much this place felt like the castle she was sadly used to. And obviously there were portraits of Sweetie Belle around the place that Scootaloo slashed. The castle had many high up areas that Shanoa had no issue getting to which often led to Scootaloo following suit. Sometimes Scootaloo would see an area that had a green glow on it. Most likely an area for a glyph to gain access to.

The castle entrance was not the biggest, it never was, and they eventually found the next area.

Area: The Library
Year: 1813

The Library of the castle was the most unkept library Scootaloo'd ever seen there were books spilled all over the place, and though Shanoa didn't care, not that she could care at this point. The eyes, peeping eyes Scootaloo had read about from Alucard's collection of monster books, weren't a threat. The Tin Men however... were. Defeating the Tin Men took using smashing damage, which Shanoa had in the form of Vol Macir, to deal more damage than one'd expect.

Scootaloo actually saw an area that Shanoa couldn't reach due to being behind a flight blocking gate, so Scootaloo teleported to the area and found a switch to open the area to Shanoa, "Thanks," she said in her same emotionless voice before she broke a statue and found another glyph, Vol Medeis if Scootaloo had to guess. "Of course the second teir of the magic glyph was in a library, one of the princesses in my world is a master of magic and lived in a library for a good while," Scootaloo commented as she watched Shanoa test out Vol Medeis, which fired a double burst of hard magic.

They left the out-of-the-way room even though Scootaloo felt a powerful presence in that area, they might have to return in the future.

Scootaloo and Shanoa found a save and warp room nearby and Scootaloo knew a boss was coming up. Shanoa and her saved and went to fight the next boss.

Upon entering the boss room, they saw another of the green glowing parts of the walls and from it came a blue-humanoid like creature, probably the librarian.

Problem is... "We can't deal enough damage to kill it," Scootaloo said after trying to attack it just to realize it had immortality magic. Well... mostly immortality magic. Scootaloo didn't knos the exact one but it was clearly a lower teir one that defended from damage at no cost to the user's MP.

The Wallman, thank the fairy tome, threw several bombs before going into the wall with a glyph.

With a glyph...

Shanoa had an idea, "Scootaloo, if you could, when the Wallman comes back through the wall, make sure the bombs are in a good position so I can just stand up here and steal the glyph," Shanoa said and Scootaloo nodded, slightly confused about her plan. As planned, when the Wallman came back, Scootaloo carefully took to bombs and made sure that they wouldn't explode in a way that could hurt Shanoa as she started doing the thing she does to take any glyph and before long, the Wallman died in the wall. Ironic.

Shanoa wore her glyph and went through the wall, Scootaloo left behind. At least it seemed that way. Scootaloo sat there for a moment, curious... What if... she thought to herself as she touched the wall and found she went right through it, now wearing attire that closely resembled Shanoa's own get up.

Scootaloo got to her hooves and immediately learned how she'd change between the two forms. With a thought. She went back to her Alucard inspired one and nodded towards Shanoa who broke a statue and got Melio Confodere, a direct improvement to her Vol Confodere but Scootaloo shouldn't shake the feeling that Melio Confodere wasn't the best it could be.

Scootaloo and Shanoa went and found more rooms as they found a split path. Scootaloo went down the right path as Shanoa went down the left.

Shanoa's path was... interesting. She had to navigate through a path filled with pony shaped monsters, not that it made things any harder except the fact that they were shorter than the normal versions. Through towards the end, she found a boss room.

When she entered the room, she felt an overwhelming darkness in the room so she made sure to replace Vol Medeis with Vol Luminato. The darkness started the congel into a pony, who it was was lost on Shanoa. The pony had a grey coat, black shadowy mane and tail, was wearing metallic armor with a red, fluff-linen cape, a red horn, and eyes that just radiate darkness. Shanoa got ready as she used Melio Confodere to attack the pony who she now realized was called Sombra.

And then she couldn't move. "What the? Hey, why can't I... ergh... move?!" Shanoaasked as the darkness powered pony laughed, "This is the power of the Order of Ecclesia? I will admit I'm... disappointed. At least you show no signs of being with that stupid ass orange filly," he spoke as dark magic started gathering at his eyes. His magic was crushing her, and yet... she seemed to realize how to stop this.

Shanoa mentally changed Vol Luminato for Vol Medeis and used the double magic burst to break Sombra's magic hold. "That is over, now... Vol Medeis!" She said aloud as she shot the double magic burst at Sombra. Shanoa had started putting the pressure on Sombra who actually summoned some Shadows and Shanoa learned the other weakness these things had. Slide kicking.

Shanoa proceeded to slide into her enemies for the next 15 minutes, no kidding. Sombra fades into the darkness opening both ways with a magic crystal spawning in the center. Scootaloo entered the room afterwards, "What did I miss?" she asked as Shanoa grabbed the magic crystal to heal herself up. "Just a battle with a pony named Sombra," Shanoa replied as she broke a statue showing a glyph of darkness, Melio Umbra.

"Barlowe's notes mentioned missing glyphs, a Melio variant of each elemental glyph chain were among them, what is the likelihood we'll find other missing glyphs off the beaten path?" Shanoa asked Scootaloo shrugged.

"Probably if we'll lucky and both Dracula and Sweetie Belle are stupid enough to not leave powerful upgrades right in places we can reach."

"Well then we better hope they aren't after learning how I absorb glyphs to make a duplicate of me for some reason,"

"They wouldn't need to considering Doppelgänger exists," Scootaloo said with a chuckle when she finds a warp room which she promptly ignores as she picks up a map, "I will hold onto this map since we could need it."

Shanoa nodded as she and Scootaloo went into a save room and saved.

Author's Note

For those that wonder what Medeis is, it's a Latin word for Magic/Magical

I am not doing the areas discovered thing this time as well.

Bosses defeated: Barlowe, Darklight, Wallman, Sombra

Yes, I am making new glyphs for Ecclesia's plot to account for the ponies. Melio Umbra, Medeis, and Vol Medeis are examples that appeared here. Should you guys have a glyph idea, I'll feel happy to add it to the story.

Chapter 16: A faceless Union

Area: The Library
Year:1813

Scootaloo and Shanoa exited the save room as the two decided. May as well get the map over with.

Area: Haze Filled City
Year: 1813

Scootaloo and Shanoa realized immediately. This was not to be an easy trip. Scootaloo had gone out of her way during the way to the Haze Filled City to get Barlowe's notes on all missing glyphs, one being called Displodo... whatever that means.

The main reason this journey wasn't going to be easy was platforming with endless numbers of Medusa Heads attacking them. Luckily none were the petrifying yellow ones but it's still annoying.

"Shanoa, I wonder, why are the glyphs named the way they are?" Scootaloo asked as she used Petra Spirit to attack a number of Medusa Heads in their path. "The glyphs are named using the Latin language, Confodere means "To Stab", Luminato means "Light", as just two examples," Shanoa replied when they killed a blue squid-looking thing called a Polkir before it could do anything.

"Latin, I'm guessing it's a language not in common use anymore?"

"Pretty much."

Scootaloo and Shanoa kept going, finding a split path. Scootaloo went down the right path while Shanoa went down the left path. Shanoa's path didn't have much except a few enemies, an item, and a... pony? The pony was wearing dark robes and had a scythe at their side, "We just need a few more materials to be able to make our own ultimate glyph," she, it was definitely a she, said before pulling out a walkie-talkie, "Dark Heart, how's your progress on the material search, I have almost everything I need," she said to the walkie-talkie and the one on the other side spoke back, "Death Scythe, you do remember that we aren't used to navigating this world's terrain, right? It isn't our fault you got the city and thus the easiest location to navigate."

Shanoa listened as the two went back and forth to each other as the one she could see, Death Scythe, was still gathering materials to make her own glyph. However it was then that Death Scythe noticed Shanoa. "Uh, everypony, I've been spotted by one of the humans, a blue female one," Death Scythe said. "YOU IDIOT, THAT'S SHANOA, DEATH SCYTHE! JUST TELEPORT OUT!" The voice of Dark Heart said on the walkie-talkie before Death Scythe teleported out of there.

Death Scythe did leave behind the most helpful thing ever. The Displodo glyph. Shanoa took the glyph and went to the path Scootaloo had gone down which was filled with... Medusa Heads... great. Shanoa decided to try out Displodo and it summoned multiple orbs in front of her which exploded upon contact with something making massive groups of enemies like Medusa heads literally a non-issue. "Am I glad that Death Scythe Pony left Displodo behind or what?" Shanoa commented.

She kept going towards Scootaloo who had been sitting and waiting for Shanoa. "Finally, what took you so damn long?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well, not much was down my path but my path lead me to a pony named Death Scythe who was gathering materials for her own ultimate glyph and she was communicating with a pony named Dark Heart however when she left she left behind Displodo making my trek here easier because it just exploded the Medusa Heads in the way. Basically, we might find ponies in other areas like this," Shanoa said causing Scootaloo to think.

"I'd heard of Death Scythe and Dark Heart, both are infamous. Death Scythe is a murderer who makes her victims look as if they died of natural causes while Dark Heart attempts to shroud a person or pony in hate and madness causing them to eventually rely on Dark Magic which is a big no no in my world," Scootaloo explained and Shanoa nodded. The two entered the boss room right next to them.

Scootaloo and Shanoa stared at the nearby statues of people and Scootaloo knew... it wasn't just statues. They were petrified people. Soon the Medusa Heads came together and formed a massive half snake, half human monster with snakes for hair.

It was Medusa.

Scootaloo jumped at the chance to attack Medusa but that was before Death Scythe appeared and used a glyph to force Scootaloo into a state of inability causing Scootaloo to jump straight into Medusa and take damage, "Ugh... what the hell?" Scootaloo asked as she looked at Death Scythe.

"Infirmitas works like a charm, I knew Dark Heart was just being overly stupid, he just needed to trust the process," Death Scythe said as Shanoa attacked her, Death Scythe attempted to use Infirmitas again but Shanoa luckily stole that instance of it, preventing Death Scythe from using it again, "... Okay maybe Dark Heart wasn't being stupid and I'm just stubborn," Death Scythe said before teleporting away.

Shanoa used Infirmitas on Scootaloo, undoing the effects Death Scythe had done. "Ugh, glyphs are powerful tools, really powerful. Got it," Scootaloo said as she made up for that failure by attacking Medusa which was assisted by Shanoa attacking with not a Rapier or anything Scootaloo had seen her use till now.

Shanoa attacked with a holy claymore. Scootaloo was interested. Scootaloo helped by throwing her axes at Medusa keeping the threat realitively small compared to other threats she's had to face. It took basically no time for Medusa to fall giving Scootaloo and Shanoa a chance to go deeper where they saw werewolves out and about. They proved no issue. Even the Medusa Heads were dealt with by Shanoa's Displodo. Infirmitas didn't prove very helpful as it works on a single target occusionally. Emphasis on occusionally. It does always undo the effects of another Infirmitas but the fact that it doesn't work all the time for Shanoa is baffling. And it's specifically Shanoa, Scootaloo, even if the projectile is thinner, always makes her target unable to attack with Infirmitas(She made sure she could only use glyphs while in her Shanoa attire, which is true sadly). All in all, Infirmitas seems to hate Shanoa for whatever reason.

They warped back to the castle after beating another weakling of a boss that doesn't even need a mention the fight was over so fast.

Area: Castle Entrance
Year:1813

Upon returning to Castlevania, Scootaloo and Shanoa had finished exploring the Library, finding nothing of note except a glyph called Dextro Custos(Right head of Cerberus) which could be useful in the future. Scootaloo and Shanoa were again at a split path where Scootaloo went right and Shanoa went left. Shanoa's path just proved to a dead end with a battle. Against a massive Tanjelly. This wasn't going to be fun.

Scootaloo had a much better path as she found a wall that she could go through with Paries and she even got to find notes on how to make a glyph through one's own actions. Scootaloo back to looking at the notes Barlowe made of missing glyphs, only one is directly labeled as destroyed, "Optimum Confodere" obviously the best version of Shanoa's rapier glyphs. So, while Shanoa was still busy, Scootaloo decided it'd be nice to remake the Optimum Confodere glyph... couldn't be that hard... right?

30 minutes later...

"Oh my god, finally... why did that take more effort than it should have?" Scootaloo said as she tried out Optimum Confodere which used a red Rapier instead of a more elegent one, "That's disappointing, I expected it to look cooler... eh, at least she has the ability to get it now. Even if it's draining for MP usage," She added as she generated an extra one for Shanoa to grab.

She sat waiting and finally Shanoa arrived, "Oh, Scootaloo, did you wait for me before continuing?" She asked which Scootaloo replied to with a nod, "Yeah, I even went out of my way to make one of the missing glyphs, Optimum Confodere, figured you'd want it to replace Melio Confodere," Scootaloo said while gesturing to it. Shanoa nodded and absorbed the glyph without hurry and replaced Melio Confodere with Optimum Confodere. "The rapier looks similiar to Union Confodere, was that intentional?" Shanoa asked to which Scootaloo shrugged.

"Don't expect me to do that again because it took 30 minutes," Scootaloo said which Shanoa nodded in understanding. Scootaloo knew the next stop would be deeper in the castle, she just didn't know what.

Area: Underground Labyrinth
Year: 1813

To say Scootaloo was upset about a labyrinth... would be an understatement. Scootaloo saw green skeletons with an additional hole in their head that she knew were called Nove Skeletons from talks with Alucard. There were also a bunch Polkir here. A bunch of Polkir is not an understatement. There really were a bunch. Shanoa killed one which dropped a glyph that was for a familiar. Neat.

As they head deeper, they find a statue-like enemy called a Gashida which... really wasn't hard to defeat. They kept getting deeper into the castle's labrinth and didn't do much interesting except go down a path to fight multiple monsters like the Gurkha Masters. More exploration finds the area's save room and warp room which are nearby the boss room.

Upon Shanoa and Scootaloo entering the boss room, they both saw a man who said "I will take your shadows!" As his shadow started becoming a massive demon. It looked and seemed impossible to hurt with physical weapons. Shanoa had stolen a Nitesco glyph from a Nova Skeleton.

The boss, Blackmore, starts the fight with a swipe of his claws on the ground, causing Scootaloo and Shanoa to just jump over it. Shanoa used Nitesco on it and it definitely did a lot of damage, Scootaloo used Hellfire to assist in damaging the boss. This continued for a bit with Scootaloo and Shanoa surprisingly just standing towards the back wall to avoid all attacks. Eventually, Blackmore says, "That was quite entertaining, you two," before his shadow became shrouded in an aura. That didn't help the guy much, another couple of hits and the guy was gone.

Following several fake dead ends, the group finds a second exit of the castle, going through it presents two options. Scootaloo goes to the cavern while Shanoa went the other way.

Scootaloo and Shanoa returned to the castle, Scootaloo annoyed, Shanoa winded. "You didn't have fun or anything down the path you went, did you?" Scootaloo asked. "A better body armor and a gem," Shanoa replied as they both decided... let's just save and move on.

And so they did, they went and saved.

Author's Note

Glyphs added: Displodo(Summons explosive orbs infront of the user), Infirmitas(A spell to make something have the inability to fight, can undo itself), Optimum Confodere(The best rapier glyph)

Bosses defeated: Medusa, Blackmore

Hehehe, Haze Filled City, City of Haze, Portrait of Ruin reference. Fun fact, I'm suffering trying to do this. I have the wiki for Ecclesia open, an IGN guide for the proper pacing of events, and the knowledge that this is going to be very different from usual with how Dominus is going to play out. See... Dominus was made as a weapon against Dracula. Sweetie Belle is different from Dracula so... Sweetie Belle may or may not survive Dominus.

Also, I brought Medusa into this game. I find it weird how out of all three DS Castlevania games, Medusa was only in Portrait of Ruin so... she's getting a role here as a minor boss. Also yes, I'm sure you guys expected Jiang Shi to make an appearence. No. They won't. I want to focus on the castle and the new secret maps(which there is one left) so Training Halls(which aren't interesting anyways) and Large Cavern(Again, uninteresting) just don't fit in.

As I said before, if you have ideas for glyphs, let me know how you'd like it to work, but you don't have to give me glyph ideas, just comment and let me know how you enjoyed the chapter and what you enjoyed the most if you want to, or don't comment at all if that's what you feel like doing.

Chapter 17: A fleeting memory.

Area: Distant Memory
Year: 1813?

Shanoa awoke in a field where the laughter of several fillies could be heard. They seemed to have just finished playing whatever game they were. "Oh man, Bloom, Sweetie, do you think we'll be friends forever?" Scootaloo asked her friends who looked like the greater enemies. "Of course, Scoots. We'll always be friends, ah promise," the yellow filly asked in her distinct country accent to which Sweetie Belle nodded in agreence.

What happened between these three? Why am I seeing this? Shanoa thought as she followed the fillies to their clubhouse, walls lined with items of value to the fillies. Including a glyph they had somehow. Shanoa took careful care to absorb the glyph and she did, finding Melio Medeis. The fillies noticed, "Huh? Where did that thing go?" Sweetie Belle asked as Apple Bloom shrugged and Scootaloo got upset, "Oh come on, I was hoping we could have Twilight research it and find out what it is!" Causing Shanoa to look at the fillies and giggle.

Giggle... that... shouldn't be something she could do without emotions... should it?

The memory changed to another setting, it was the middle of the night and many ponies were gathered in a single building, a strange mare flew into the building while wielding a scythe... A scythe? Why does a pony need a scythe? Shanoa asked before she realized... the night, the scythe, the cold cruel look in the pony's eyes...

Shanoa watched as the scythe wielding pony pointed it in her direction asking her to "Come and face me," Shanoa stepped towards the pony her glyphs glowing brightly. The landscape shifted to a castle, and not just any castle. But the Castle Keep of Castlemania.

Shano and the pony fought with a vigor unlike ever seen before, and when it was finished...

Optimum Falcis obtained.

Area: Barracks
Year: 1813

Shanoa awoke from her strange dream in the magical grasp of Scootaloo carrying her, "Sleep well?" Scootaloo asked as she abruptly dropped Shanoa. "Oof! Why did you drop me?" Shanoa asked.

"You're heavy, I expended a lot of magic to carry you as far as I did." Scootaloo said as she revealed a Melio Hasta glyph for Shanoa.

"Hmph, well I had a dream that I fought a pony wielding a scythe. A pony with a coat as black as the darkest nights, a mane identical to the starry night sky, and eyes as cold as death," Shanoa explained as Scootaloo froze up. That can't be... Scootaloo thought. "From the dream I got Melio Medeis from a treehouse and Optimum Falcis from beating that pony," Shanoa added causing Scootaloo to go wide eyed, "Shanoa... I think that was more than a dream..." Scootaloo said at last.

The two kept talking as they moved throughout these Barracks, enemies were everywhere as it seemed Dracula and Sweetie Belle were kinda becoming desprite. Not that it stopped Scootaloo and Shanoa if they were sending demons to attempt to stop them. Not one bit.

Scootaloo and Shanoa waltzed through the barracks, finding the Lizardmen Blades to be easy and a hidden chest was even dug out containing some red candy drops. Shanoa ate them. "These attribute drops are delicious and helpful as they help make my glyphs stronger," She explained.

From there navigating wasn't too hard. As expected.

Area: Mechanical Tower
Year: 1813

Scootaloo and Shanoa enter the area which felt like a clock tower, an area Scootaloo had yet to enter, and the first thing Shanoa does is kill a armor enemy with a massive hammer, a Hammer Shaker, which left behind a hammer glyph, Melio Macir, but Scootaloo knew better. Shanoa and her moved through the area, finding a somewhat open room with Death in it.

"So, you have reached this far, impressive. Me and Apple Bloom expected you to have more slowdown but no... I knew our expectations were unrealistic with you here, Scootaloo." He said, Scootaloo indeed was a force to be reckoned with... if you wanted to commit suicide, that is. "Cut to the chase, Death, we don't have all damn day," Scootaloo said as Death chuckled. "Hasty, are we? You cannot rush me. I know you both have been surprised by the changes in the enemies you fight. Monsters that Sweetie Belle command mixing in with the troops my master commands, it makes a shinigami proud how powerful those two are becoming," Death said, his green robes, why he went for green is unknown, and his scythe, looking similiar to Nightmare Moon's rumored scythe, gleamed in the light.

Death left the two alone, maybe going towards the top to be fought. The two kept going, finding the enemies don't vary much. Medusa Heads and a grey variety called Gorgon Heads were dealt with by Displodo and normal enemies were fought off with Optimum Confodere or Melio Macir if they were weak to Smashing damage. Which was mainly reserved for the armored enemies. Near a save point, warp point combo(The group had gone off the beaten path) Scootaloo picked up a map and the two left to castle to explore the new location.

Area: Everfallen Forest
Year: 1813

Scootaloo and Shanoa entered the forest and saw it had a similiar style to the Everfree forest... well, Scootaloo noticed it. Shanoa had no idea.

The Everfallen Forest, as Scootaloo decided to call it, held a big surprise, it wasn't a straight as hell path! Scootaloo and Shanoa agreed on spliting up in this place since exploring everything would take too long.

Shanoa's path had wolves made of wood in it, and even some small bug like creatures. It had Une and Axe Armors as well. Whoever was sending these monsters wasn't doing a very good job. Then it hit her in the face like a ton of bricks. They were easy, not because they were weak, but rather, she was too strong. She found out the hard way that is her down fall as a frosty area showing a ghostly pony spirit stood in her way. It had strength Shanoa had never felt before, this area was frosty because of the monster! Shanoa activated Melio Medeis and shot the three shot burst towards the monster, learning it's called a Windigo, now, for most, learning this place exists would be frightening as it shows a crossing of the worlds, but chances are Death Scythe and her friends are behind this so... Shanoa didn't have to worry.

Shanoa beat the Windigo and felt the air warm up and found a crystal fragment had dropped from the Windigo. She sped as fast as she could to reach Scootaloo and found Scootaloo hiding in a bush listening to a pony.

"Okay, how the hay did Dark Heart consider bringing some of the Everfree's magic a good idea? It's bad enough that Death Scythe went ahead and cleared out the Haze Filled City before Shanoa found her, why do I have to deal with a forest that has the magic of the one place in Equestria that I'm scared of? Ugh, I should just tell Dark Heart that I couldn't find the fragment and call it a day because I want out," The pony got a walkie-talkie out, "Hey, Dark Heart, I searched everywhere, no sign of the fragment you wanted, can I leave now?" They said into the walkie-talkie but the sounds on the otherside seem to imply that Dark Heart isn't fond of that idea. The pony put the walkie-talkie up, "It was worth a shot, alright, this fragment and the one Dark Heart has are all we need now before we can make our ultimate glyph," the pony flew off.

"That voice... I know that voice. They are called Silent Void, we don't know of that's actually their name or not, but they do many acts of evil with one, maybe two statements said through it," Scootaloo explained as she and Shanoa decided it was time to return to the castle. Shanoa paying a visit tp Wygol village.

Area: Mechanical Tower
Year: 1813

Scootaloo was waiting as Shanoa returned, a new frosty ayra following her. "I went and upgraded my dress to make it my best armor, glad I killed that Windigo," She said as Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "You killed a Windigo? I don't believe it, like, I actually don't," Scootaloo said before they moved forward, Scootaloo was now realizing that they wouldn't be able to reach Death from here, they'd have to go a different way. But first...

Area: The Library
Year: 1813

Scootaloo(and Shanoa) returned to where she felt the powerful presence. Scootaloo attacked a fake wall revealing a boss door. Scootaloo smirked as she and Shanoa entered the room.

The boss revealed to have a blank room at first. Then the room shifted, revealing a mare. Scootaloo knew the myth this mare was from. She was the Memory Mare. A pony who could look like anyone from your memories. Powers and all.

And to make things even worst, unlike Doppelgängers, she's a perfect replica.

She turned to Scootaloo and Shanoa, "New victims? Joyous.You feel like playing?" She spoke in her disturbing voice.

The door shut behind the two as the arena changed to Ponyville as it was attacked by Nightmare Moon. "I shall cover Equestria in eternal night!" She said summoning her rumored scythe. Fighting Nightmare Moon was a bit like fighting Death, mini moon-shaped projectiles appeared as Nightmare Moon used her scythe to attack. Sometimes she would summon moons to shoot lasers down to the ground. She could also summon a sigil which would fire a bunch of the moons in one direction as a sort of puesdo laser beam.

She could even throw her scythe and it'd return before it releashed a shockwave of moon projectiles. All in all, she's got some hellish moves. Shanoa used Vol Luminato to deal holy damage to Nightmare Moon, which proves to deal a ton of damage. Too much so. Scootaloo used her weapon and after her hitting Nightmare Moon once, she fell, defeated.

But then the arena shifted again, now replacing Nightmare Moon with Trixie Lulamoon(who was wearing the Alicorn Amulet because of course she is) but that didn't last long. That amulet is surprisingly fragile so whoever made it must have been confident it'd never be destroyed.

Next came Chrysalis and... she as also very easy to defeat for the pair... were they... not going to give a challenge?

But then the arena shifted to one last location. An area Scootaloo knew well. The darkness. A light slowly shone revealing a pure black pony with beautiful purple eyes and small fangs poking through his muzzle. His sword gleaming in the light. He was Midnight, the pitch-black copy cat. "I will admit Scootaloo, you have given a decent challenge. In fact, you both have given me some new tricks to use, thank you," He spoke in a voice that seems grim but held an air of... misdirection. "Do not worry, Memory Mare isn't real, I just pretended to be her to test your abilities and you both are powerful, very powerful,"

"Fight me. Just you and me, a simple fight," Scootaloo said whole-heartedly, knowing full well that Midnight was a force to be reckoned with. Midnight nodded as Shanoa trotted of to the side.

The setting turns to full brightness to reveal the setting, the Order. Midnight gripped his blade in his hoof as Scootaloo got ready to attack. Scootaloo started dashing as Midnight quickly took his hoof of the blade and lifted it to summon several roses like an attack from an Alura Une, Scootaloo quickly jumped to the side to avoid the attack but then Midnight suddenly sprouted a pair of wings and summoned a god damn tornado like a... griffin...

Scootaloo attempts to use Rushing Darkness only for her to watch as Midnight stares at it for a movement then dodges at the last second and uses Rushing Darkness himself. What the hell!? "How the hell did you do that?! I thought only I could?" Scootaloo asked as she quickly jumps over the attack and another where a little yellow flower with a moderately creepy face shoots little white pellets at her. "My signiture ability, the copy ability. As long as I have sight of an attack, I can copy it perfectly," Midnight replied before throwing a giant axe out.

Okay, avoid using magic, got it. Scootaloo thought to herself as she jumped over Midnight using his sword in a sweeping attack and counter attacked, causing him to flinch before he retailiated with a sword swipe hitting Scootaloo in the chest, not injuring her but it did hurt like hell.

Shanoa was watching the fight upfold, making her own observations but a major one involved Midnight's speed... it seemed unnatural, like something was boosting it. Shanoa watched as Scootaloo landed a second hit and Shanoa saw Midnight was wearing a leg warmer but... that couldn't be so simple, could it?

It couldn't have, after Scootaloo broke through and hit Midnight again, Midnight slouched down. "Man, at my fastest, you beat me... but you haven't won yet!" Midnight comsumed what looked like an HP Max up and he had stood straight up again. "Rapidos Fio, disable. Vis Fio, enable." Midnight said as his eyes went from purple to red, his leg warmer replaced by him having a brooch of some kind, as if he intends to maximize damage in place of speed.

And it shows, Scootaloo, at maximum health, gets hit by the sword suddenly and loses about 90% of her health. "Oh god... oh fuck." Scootaloo says as she realizes... she could use her subweapon. She had the axe the entire time and Midnight showed her that he had an Axe skill copied! So Scootaloo resorted to using hearts to finish the fight, Midnight flinched at the first hit before he moved again. He moved at a speed Scootaloo was able to counter with teleports. And soon, he fell.

"Oh goodness, hehehe, you're clever Scootaloo, those teleports and Axes were clever. I have something I think you'll like," Midnight said as he took off the brouch and replaced it with the leg warmer and turning his passive back to Rapidos Fio. He got out a, seemingly, blank element. "With this, you should be immune to most disharmony effects, anyways, gotta go, have a changeling to prevent from destroying harmony." and with that Midnight teleported away.

"Do we mention this to anyone?"

"Nope."

Author's Note

Glyphs added: Melio Medeis(Shoots a three shot burst of magic), Optimum Falcis(The best sickle glyph)

Bosses beaten: Windigo, Midnight

Relic(s) acquired: Element of Courage(Grants immunity to curse and silence)

To explain Midnight, he's a MLP oc I made on a Castlevania fangame called Ponyvania: Order of Equestria. He was an Earth pony that I gave the back story of being related to Marshmellow, who is a changeling admiral that was incredibly loyal to Chrysalis, but frequently stops Equestria from falling to chaos. He will appear again, do not worry.

On another note: Midnight is a superboss due to his copy ability. Also, the little yellow flower is a reference to Flowey as Ponyvania had an item called the Sinster Seed that summoned Flowey to shoot some friendliness pellets. So yeah.

Also, next chapter we return to boring Order of Ecclesia plot stuff because we literally did stuff that's outside of plot the entire chapter. Only plot thing was navigation of the Barracks, ig.

Chapter 18: Time to beat dear Death and save Europe again?

Area: Final Approach
Year: 1813
After the Midnight superboss fight

Dracula and Sweetie Belle were both mentally screaming. "How... the hell... did she win... against him?" Dracula said, voice filled with fear. "I... don't know... nor do I want to..." Sweetie Belle said, "Is it... normal to feel like dread like this?" She added, to which Dracula shook his head no. "It isn't... never once... have I felt even half this dread I feel now... it's as if... that filly has left her undying mark. She is a creature we cannot fight without luck," Dracula said and Sweetie Belle gulped in a nervous sweat.

Area: New Equestrian Order
Year: 1813

"Ugh, damn it! We're running out of time to finish that ultimate glyph!" Dark Heart said while slaming his hoof into the table. Death Scythe, usually cheery, also felt just distrouth about how horribly the plan's working out. Shanoa infered causing Death Scythe to leave before she had everything, Silent Void couldn't find the fragment so they had to go an a wild goose chase to find it in the celestial damned Kalidus Channel. "Me and Voidy both have Infirmitas, we could win with that in mind! And the lady of darkness will give us all kinda of rewards for helping her defeat Scootaloo!" Death Scythe said, her coat covered in blood from several innocents despite the three of them being here less than a day.

"Death Scythe... how in tartarus did you get blood all over that coat in 10 hours?"

"Well, what else was I going to do after I went back and got the last few materials for my part? Sit there? No, I'm a stone-cold killer for a reason!"

"... you could at least practice restrainment,"

"... What's restrainment?"

At that, Dark Heart just decided to go ahead and turn to watching the glyph be made. It still wasn't going as expected.

"Ugh... I hate this so much,"

Area: Arms Depot
Year: 1813

Scootaloo and Shanoa wandered through the Arms Depot, Shanoa destroying everything with Secta Umbra, a sword-like glyph obtained from defeating Midnight, while keeping her Optimum Confodere on her other hand. Secta Umbra dealt pure dark damage even though it looks like it could deal slashing damage. "I'll admit it. It think we're far too powerful for this place to be any issue," Scootaloo said as the group went farther into the area.

Finding a room with Melio Falcis was unexpected and unwelcome, but, nice to have for now. Some more navigating and they found a boss door.

Shanoa and Scootaloo saw the giant thing in the room. And had nothing to say. "How... can something be so big?" Shanoa asked, to which Scootaloo just shrugged in disblief.

Shanoa equipped Melio Macir and went to start dealing damage, Scootaloo helping out however she can. In that, she means she was attacking the crossbows on Eligor's sides. Then she noticed the eye and got a wonderous idea. Using Fatal wind, she got up close to the eye and repeatedly slashed at it, killing the boss faster than expected.

"He's done, let's get our reward and move on," Scootaloo said as Shanoa went into the next room amd returned with a new glyph in her possession. "Arma Custos, not useful right now but might be later," Shanoa said as the two left the Arms Depot because it's a dead end.

Area: Mechanical Tower
Year: 1813

Scootaloo and Shanoa had gone a different path in the Barracks to reach a new part of the Mechanical Tower, they didn't miss the spikes at all. Unlike the first time, Scootaloo and Shanoa spent a hell of a lot of time climbing the tower, finding upgrades to their health and MP along the way and they eventually found a boss door. Scootaloo and Shanoa knowing who's on the otherside.

Upon entering the room, Death and Apple Bloom as seen floating and giving the two a deathly glare. "So ya both finally arrived. Ah saw that battle against Midnight, it surprised meh, certainly, but did ah expect less from ya? No, ah didn't," Apple Bloom said as she chuckled. "And you, Shanoa, have proven to be interesting in yourself. Someone capable of defeating the monsters in this castle like you and Scootaloo is not uncommon so me and Apple Bloom prepared for you two," Death said, his scythe gleaming in an unknown light, Apple Bloom held her hoof out and summoned her scythe, which looked a little like she was holding a twisted apple tree.

The fight began with Apple Bloom slamming her scythe on the ground, summoning the bone tree but then Death used his scythe to cut the tree down causing Shanoa to be hit by it and Scootaloo to dash away from the exploding skull that was left behind by the tree crashing down. Then Death went out of his way to summon several laser beams from the ground following Scootaloo only for Apple Bloom to use the moment to slash her scythe at Scootaloo, damaging her greatly.

Ugh... what... what the hell? How are these two... so good now? This isn't like it was back in 1798... they are working as a full on team, one's attacks assist the other's... this must mean that they weren't lying... they did prepare for us, Scootaloo thought as she dodged attacks only to be hit by other attacks. The teamwork Death and Apple Bloom are showing... it's on par with Scootaloo and Alucard, what one does, helps the other. Intentionally. In 1798, they were just two people after the souls of Scootaloo and Alucard, now, today, in 1813... they were fighting as a team.

Shanoa slowly rises from her temporary knock out and watches the scene unfold... Scootaloo wasn't able to avoid the whole onslaught, Death and Apple Bloom realized that the way to win wasn't to fight one on one, but to focus efforts of combat on one character. In this case, against Scootaloo, the biggest threat to their plans. Shanoa stood up and approached the two before using Nitesco to deal... decent damage to Apple Bloom while Death took next to nothing.

Scootaloo realized Shanoa had attacked Apple Bloom with Nitesco, so Scootaloo attacked Death dealing decent damage to him, "Each one has an attack type weakness! Apple Bloom's magic, Death's physical!" Scootaloo announced as she used a Dash attack on Death before being suddenly attacked by Apple Bloom, "Ya expect us ta die that easy? No, if we're goin' down, ya'll be goin' down with us!" Apple Bloom said as Death throws his scythe while Apple Bloom slammed her scythe on the ground, summoning the bone tree again. Which created an explosive skull that hit Scootaloo with the explosion.

"Well, we will not sit here and fall to your scythes!" Shanoa said as Scootaloo rushed to her side and the two near instinctively did something... unexpected. A dual crush.

Shanoa's glyphs empowered Scootaloo's Axes giving them all kinds of elemental properties, hitting Death and Apple Bloom for decent damage, even if Apple Bloom was using her scythe to block some of the attacks. And when the dual crush ended, Shanoa and Scootaloo were surprised, Scootaloo less so but everyone else she dual crushed with could wield sub-weapons. Shanoa couldn't... could she? Death started chuckling as he saw their confusion. He and Apple Bloom must have a trick up their sleeves that they haven't shared yet.

"What's so funny, asshole?!" Scootaloo yelled out as Death twirled his scythe. Death and Apple Bloom grabbed the other's scythe before quickly letting go and throwing their scythes at the same time and shooting beams straight from their hands/hooves, Scootaloo and Shanoa weren't going to just... lie down and die. Scootaloo crouched down and slid forwards before teleporting behind Apple Bloom and Death, Shanoa activating Melio Scutum to block the beams while moving forward to avoid the scythes.

Then the barrage from Scootaloo and Shanoa came, bringing Death and Apple Bloom to lower health. Apple Bloom started transforming into her second stage and when she transformed her massive scythe sweeped across the room hitting both Scootaloo and Shanoa. Death threw his scythe but Scootaloo caught it. "Violence breed violence. Yet violence is all that you know. You want violence... I'll give you violence," Scootaloo said as she threw the scythe at Death, cutting him in half. Scootaloo turned towards Apple Bloom who summoned three of the bones trees, all of which grew 5 exploding skulls which hit Scootaloo.

Scootaloo realized... she wasn't going to win this fight the way she'd won every other one.

Flashback

Scootaloo spent time after finishing Optimum Confodere to translate some of her spells into Glyphs, Petra Spirit, Rushing Darkness, Hellfire, and even Metamorphos Flame. She knew they needed Latin names so, with some research, she came up with Petrus Spiritus, Ruunt de Tenebris, Ignis Gehennae, and Metamorphoseon Flamma, just in case.

Back to the present

Scootaloo changed to her Shanoa, styled attire as she stood up on her hooves and used Petrus Spiritus, summoned the five spirits which she followed with Vol Luminatio then Optimum Confodere, ending Apple Bloom properly. As Apple Bloom faded out, Shanoa stood up, looking at Scootaloo with her usual lack of emotions.

The two left the room with their reward in tow, the last piece of Cerberus. They progressed through the Mechanical Tower, Scootaloo back in her usual attire, until they found the entrance to another area.

Area: Forsaken Cloister
Year: 1813

Scootaloo and Shanoa entered the semi-final area with high hopes... that were immediately dashed. Nothing was a challenge, it was so easy that Shanoa got to take a picture of a Cave Troll and of several other enemies. Scootaloo and Shanoa found a warp some rooms over from a statue of Cerberus.

"Bring the parts of the beast, and the path will be released," Scootaloo read from the statue and Shanoa seemed to know what it was implying. Activating the Custos glyphs and using each one allowed the statue's eyes to start glowing and then, the platform lowered. "Our journey is starting to near its end, any final wishes before we move forward as I feel that once we go forward, we won't be able to return," Shanoa said as Scootaloo nodded.

Area: New Equestrian Order
Year: 1813

Scootaloo stood outside the imposing base and she dashed into it. The base was a big one, she was glad to have left Shanoa behind so she could finish what she started. She found a boss door soon, behind the door was Death Scythe, who had just finished murdering a person and twisting their body in inhumane ways, the coat's hood fell, revealing the Maroon colored pony's true colors. "Heheh, another victim murdered, perfect!" She turned towards Scootaloo and her sickle was summoned into her grip.

Death Scythe is one of the few ponies entirely capable of standing purely on their back hooves. Death Scythe started off by attempting to get Infirmitas off but Scootaloo stopped it then counter attacked. Death Scythe attacked to attack but another blow from Scootaloo caused her to pass out from damage. The next area was silent... very silent. No monsters, no traps. Nothing. Scootaloo progressed slowly to be careful. Eventually she found another boss door, this time Silent Void was behind it... he didn't pose a threat either. Nothing did. Scootaloo went and defeated the enmies in her way to Dark Heart.

And would you guess Dark Heart posed a challenge? Nope. He didn't. At all.

Area: Final Approach
Year: 1813

Scootaloo returned, Shanoa was waiting and they started up the Final Approach. And it was worthless. Shanoa found the Volaticus glyph and that was all that was important. Together they made it all the way up. A single save room, and the finale of the journey. They save and enter to final room.

Sweetie Belle and Dracula notice the two and have some expressions that imply calmness but they knew they were anything but calm. They get the fight going Dracula deciding to attack with punches and his usual tricks, Sweetie Belle assisting with her Hellfires and Magical claws. They were giving Scootaloo and Shanoa a hard time but it wasn't anything too difficult.

That is... until Dracula shot flames into the air while Sweetie Belle used a new magic attack as a shockwave move. Dracula was starting to give hell, the fight went on for several moments but before long... he and Sweetie Belle were on their last whims...

Sweetie Belle screeched so loud that Shanoa was slammed into a wall and the Dominus glyphs were ejected as Dracula started charging a trick she'd only heard about... Demonic Megiddo. Scootaloo was locked between a wall and a hard place... but she quickly took a breath and absorbed the Dominus glyphs... before she used them all at once activating Dominus and keeling down. "But this is... NO! IT CAN'T BE MY-" Dracula started screaming in pain, Sweetie Belle was entirely unaffected though... "You... you... insolent... little... filly..." Sweetie Belle spoke through tear filled eyes.

The spirit of Albus appeared to Scootaloo, "How... how did you survive using Dominus?" He said, voice filled with confusion before Scootaloo showed the Silver Necklace she still had from Fabricator. "A friend ensured my survival, and I wasn't going to let you stay dead. For Shanoa, I'll bring you back, Albus," Scootaloo replied as she stood up. Sweetie Belle's anger reaching tenfold levels. Scootaloo returned to her normal attire destroying Dominus entirely and drinking a Super Potion. "You know the greatest folly of anypony, Belle? It's carelessness. Like before, you let yourself be careless and now you'll see the error of that folly," Scootaloo said as she dashed towards Sweetie Belle but Sweetie swatted Scootaloo away like she was a fly knocking Scootaloo out... leaving Shanoa who awoke with anger.

Her equipped glyphs changed to Optimum Hasta(Got it from Scootaloo having gone to the New Equestrian Order), and Optimum Falcis with her back glyph being Arma Custos. And the two teleported out of sight.

Area: Blood Born Nightmare
Year: 1813

Sweetie Belle stared right at Shanoa whose glyphs were glowing brightly. Shanoa drank a Super Potion as she activated Arma Custos and charged towards Sweetie Belle attempting to attack her with Optimum Hasta but Sweetie Belle dodged and counterattacked with a Magical Claw which Shanoa dodged with a cartwheel. "You will pay for hurting Scootaloo!" Shanoa yelled in her recovered anger. "She needs to pay for being an insolent little brat!"

"YOU'RE THE INSOLENT BRAT, BELLE!" Shanoa said as Optimum Falcis hit its mark in Sweetie Belle's head. Sweetie Belle was baffled... she... insolent... this human has no idea the fire she's playing with.

Sweetie Belle started giggling. "Hehehe, you humans are funny. You know, I could give you a place at my side but I know you'll decline. Oh you poor little human... hehehehe," She keeps giggling. "What's so damn funny asshole!?" Shanoa yelled out in pure, unbridled rage as Optimum Hasta finds its mark Sweetie Belle's eye.

Soon Sweetie Belle turned into her titanic monsterous Dragon/Alicorn/hybrid form and roared. The battlefield becoming a blood soaked version of the Order. And Shanoa dodged the attacks waiting for an opening, which were slim and far apart. When she got the chance she attacked Sweetie Belle in the opening and immediately got ready to dodge. Safe to say that this fight wasn't interesting to watch.

When Sweetie Belle was on her last legs she proceeded to ask, "WHY DO YOU FIGHT AS AN INSOLENT WENCH?!"

"Because I am the blade to banish all evil, and I'd come to see Dracula annihilated which I saw. But now your destruction is nigh and you refuse to die. I ask that you parish; Demon Queen Sweetie Belle!" Shanoa replied as she stabbed Optimum Hasta right into Sweetie Belle's head.

Area: Outside the castle
Year: 1813

Scootaloo watched as Shanoa appeared from thin air. The presence of Sweetie Belle entirely gone. Scootaloo smiled happily as Albus, revived by Scootaloo and Twilight while Shanoa was facing Sweetie Belle, gave Shanoa a grand hug. And they knew. This adventure had finally...

Been put to rest.

Area: Chaotic Realm
Year: 1813

Sweetie Belle was counting the nearby grains of dust. Anger and frustration still very real. "Fuck ponies, fuck humanity, fuck the motherfucking chicken called Scootaloo and her motherfucking ape brained loser human friends!" Sweetie Belle spoke in anger, her voice tainted with the sound of hate, "Why, oh why, has God cursed us so to suffer instead of giving us the dream we so desire. Must He realize the suffering that He has given us?"

Apple Bloom was working on perfecting her skills and abilities to ensure she can kill Scootaloo and whatever human steps on Scootaloo's side. Death, a new one since the old one died, was supervising the training and made sure Apple Bloom didn't push herself too hard but Apple Bloom didn't care. She kept pushing herself, wishing to show that goody-two-shoed mare who's the real boss. Scootaloo may be a mare now but she's still physically a filly and Apple Bloom planned to abuse that. "Apple Bloom! Stop pushing yourself so hard! You'll hurt yourself!" Death said, this one had come equipped with a pony form he could choose to use, concern clear on his face. "Ah git ya don't know the pain of losin' ta that chicken, but when ya do, ya won't be sayin' this shit. Ah need ta perfect mahself ta make positively certain that ah can kill that chicken in cold blood," Apple Bloom replied in anger.

Dracula sat on his makeshift throne, nothing but monotony in his heart. He'd lost yet again with no way to come back again. He'd have to wait but... he knew it'd be a long ass time before he could come back. So he sipped his wine, he sipped it well. It was over again. And it was Scootaloo's fault.

Author's Note

Glyphs added: Secta Umbra(Use a sword of pure shadow, doesn't not cut), Petrus Spiritus(Summon five spirits), Ruunt de Tenebris(Summon several dark spirits to rush at the enemies), Ignis Gehennae(Shoot three fire balls), Metamorphoseon Flamma(Shoot three dark blasts to deal fire damage), Optimum Hasta(the best spear glyph)

Bosses defeated: Eligor, Death and Apple Bloom, Death Scythe, Silent Void, Dark Heart

Translation fact: Secare is a word for "to cut" but Secta Umbra translates to "To cut with shadow"

Actual note:
For those wondering why Scootaloo and Shanoa started called Sweetie Belle just "Belle" towards the end was because the "Sweetie" part doesn't really apply anymore. For all intents and purposes Sweetie Belle is just "Belle".

Intermission 4: A moment of reprise

Area: Ponyville
Year: 1835

Scootaloo was trotting through Ponyville, 22 years having passed since she helped defeat Dracula and Sweetie Belle with Shanoa. Twilight, well, Princess Twilight had been hard at work trying to ensure Death couldn't steal Scootaloo's equipment but for now, she was getting used to the slowly advancing Equestria. Electricity getting more uses, more magic types being developed, and over all more types of convinence of course it'd still take a while before it could really be useful.

Scootaloo looked at the ponies nearby and all of them waved at her while she didn't wave back but everypony knew that was the norm...

How was Sweetie Belle able to swat me away? She shouldn't have been that powerful. Scootaloo thought to herself.

She opened her doodle book and started doodling again, this time she started doodling Shanoa and Alucard together as she found that the two were getting along pretty well. They would even train in the battle simulator frequently. An interesting effect of Shanoa having owned the Dominus glyphs, Shanoa no longer ages similiar to Dracula and has quite adamently taken to using Hasta and Falcis glyphs, even working to try and discover other glyphs of those types with Alucard going to be attempting to learn all he can about Castlevania and how it works to make certain plans Sweetie Belle could execute with her little "dark minions" much harder to execute.

Scootaloo put her doodle book up as she was through doodling for now. Scootaloo continued trotting around when a colt trotted up to her, "Can I help you?" Scootaloo asked as the colt nodded. "Could I get an autograph?" He asked as Scootaloo deadpanned but gave an autograph none-the-less. "There, don't tell anypony I give autographs because this time was an exception," Scootaloo exclaims as the colt nods and gallops away, "... I do not need fillies and colts looking up to me because I do some dangerous work and I want the mares and stallions of the future to, you know, not put themselves into dangerous situations," Scootaloo said with a sigh.

Area: Ponyville
Year: 1850

Princess Twilight was staring out the window of the castle, Rainbow Dash(who was the exact same as she was back in 1798) sitting in the room, looking over various reports of monsters and malicious ponies, "Twi, I trust you and all, but why the hell aren't we sending Scoots right now? This is giving some big Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle energy since I'm expecting an attack from them to arrive any day since the last one in Equestria was in 1798 and the last one in Europe was 37 years ago in 1813, there is no way that Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom aren't involved!" Rainbow Dash said as Twilight stared out.

"Scootaloo is not needed yet. Yes, I'm suspicious of the silence from Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom but we do not need to interfer with it, let Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle prepare, if they hurt towns at once or Castlemania returns then we interfere," Twilight spoke in the professional voice she'd gotten good at using and while Rainbow wasn't willing to go against what her friend said, she knew that letting Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle prepare for too long would be lifetimes of hell for Equestria and Europe.

"Twi, I do trust you, and I'll respect the decision... but we can't let them prepare forever. That's a recipe for disaster, you know?"

"I know. I really do. But pre-emptively attacking wouldn't feel satisifying, and thus make defeating Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom feel empty."

"You're worried about it being satisifying and not over? Eh, to be honest, I'd be the same way... technically nopony is the bearer of the element of honesty anymore so... uh... is the phrase "to be honest" kinda disrespectful?" Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her head in thought.

Twilight just sighed.

Area: Chaotic Realm
Year: 1914

Apple Bloom returned to the chaotic realm after paying Europe a visit, "Eupore's involved in a world-wide war. Ah wish ah was kiddin'," she said to Sweetie Belle and Dracula. "Uh... why?"

"Ah don't quite know, I saw a vampire named Elizabeth who told meh she planned ta use the sacrifices of the war as a way ta revive someone."

"Elizabeth Bartley. My niece is trying to revive me."

"... You have a niece?" Sweetie Belle asked as Dracula nodded, "Huh, you'd never guess just by looking at you."

"Anyways, ah say we don't interfere incase those Morris clan members are still around, plus, Sweetie, yer dark minions are growin' in number. Slowly, but they are."

"Perfect! Now we wait to see what happens,"

"Yes, I fear that Elizabeth will fail like I have many times so I hold not much hope for this. If she succeeds then I'll be impressed," Dracula stated, well aware of how futile it is as long as the holy whip is out there.

Dracula stared into the chaotic abyss of the Chaotic Realm, a place he'd grown used to over all his failures to rule over all of Europe. He saw the monsters, both of his castle and of Sweetie Belle's castle, roaming about, chatting amongst themselves. He saw Death failing to master the powers the last version did. And he saw the boss demons, all patiently waiting for Dracula to get his will to fight back but... he might never get it back, if he was honest with himself.

Dracula sighed as he teleported elsewhere. He knew it'd eventually be a matter of time before they'd find a way to be rid of him forever. So he stood in an area that nobody but him knew about, "Chaos... show me my restoration/revival cycle data," he said as a screen appeared with his data.

It showed everything you could think it'd need to show. The current status of whether or not it's active, how many times he's died, and most interesting of all... what power he would keep upon reincarmnating. That last one was still blank as he never thought he'd need that information... but now he does so he scrolls through the list... finding one he forgot he even had... The Power of Dominance and so he figured... what better power to keep than that? So selected it and returned to Sweetie Bell and the others.

Author's Note

Ooooooh, forshadowing for 1999 and the Sorrow games.

Expect Portrait to start next chapter for arc 4: "A Bloody Masterpiece."

Also, Dracula being aware that he'll fail, what a surprise.

Chapter 19: The Magic of... Art?

Area: Portal Site
Year: 1944

Scootaloo jumped through the portal, returning to Europe because of the news that Castlevania, and most likely Dracula, had returned. Her mad dash towards the ominess castle was stopped by Death however. "Greetings, I have heard much about you, Scootaloo," He said, his cloak having a pin of a skull.

"Hello... Death. So it's true, Castlevania and thus Dracula have returned?" Scootaloo asked as Death shook his head.

"It is true that the castle is back, it is not true that my master is back. The castle feels as if it is not the same as it should,"

"That so? Well, guess I'll have to ensure that the castle's destroyed before Dracula comes back then, won't I?"

"Not so fast you little filly," Death said as he raised an arm and took away every point of EXP and the data of every kill Scootaloo had done, before scattering most of the relics she had. The only ones that stayed with her dash boots and the artifical horn. "What?! Give me back my stuff!" Scootaloo commanded aloud but Death simply flew to the castle.

"Ugh... god damn it."

Area: Castle Entrance
Year: 1944

Scootaloo galloped towards the castle before finding two humans, one a male in a red vest, black shirt and pants, having blonde hair, and wielding a very familiar weapon, the other being a female in a white top with a blue and white skirt, a blue cape like accessory, a red bowtie on the shirt, some decently long brown-ish hair, and a spell book in her hands. They were speaking with a priest who also came to the castle for some reason.

Scootaloo galloped into the castle as she found a strange cube that she couldn't interact with and she found that she, alone, couldn't press the switch down. "This is reminding me of Castlemania..." Scootaloo said as the humans walked through the gate and found her.

"Uh... Charlotte? What is that?" The male asked.

"It isn't a 'what' Jonathan, it's a 'who'. From what I remember reading, that's Scootaloo who helped against Dracula in both 1798 and 1813, so we're safe," the woman, Charlotte, replied.

"Yeah... hehehe... could I get a bit of help here?" Scootaloo asked as Jonathan and Charlotte came and pressed the button when Scootaloo which opened the gate... albeit, three probably wasn't neccessary. The button looked like it needed two alone.

"So... if you are Scootaloo and you are so important to having helped against Dracula twice before... why do you look so weak?" Jonathan asked Scootaloo.

"Plain and simple. Death. He took most of my relics and benefits, including my Lizard Tail, EXP, and the number of monster kills I'd amassed," Scootaloo replied.

"So basically Death made you weak?" Jonathan said.

"... Yes. Since we're getting to know each other, what about you Jonathan, I see you have the Vampire Killer and Richter told me and Alucard that he gave the whip to the Morris clan. Does that mean you are a Morris then?" Scootaloo asked Jonathan.

"Yes, however my father failed to teach me how to use the damn thing so it's as good as garbage," Jonathan explained as he grabbed a sword and put the next-to-useless whip away.

"Your father didn't teach you to use the whip? It had to have been for a good reason. I doubt the heir to the Vampire Killer being unable to use said whip has to have some good logic behind it."

"Maybe but let's just focus on getting to Dracula to defeat him," Jonathan said, reminding Scootaloo of something.

"About that, Death told me that while this is Dracula's Castle, Dracula, himself, isn't here... somehow," Scootaloo mentioned causing both Jonathan and Charlotte to look at Scootaloo like she was crazy.

"Yeah, that's the expected reaction. Usually the castle and Dracula are inseperable but whoever brought Castlevania back clearly found a way to seperate the two."

Scootaloo stated as the found some pillars with weak spots. She immediately bucked the weak spot as Charlotte grabbed her new weapon, a Tome of Arms. This continued for a few moments as Scootaloo realized she heard stomping after a certain point. That sounds like... "BEHEMOTH!" Scootaloo yelled as everyone was now rushing to get through the area to escape the Behemoth, breaking pillars to ensure that the Behemoth doesn't catch up and when they reach the end... platforms to stand so the Behemoth could break the door open.

Jonathan jumps up first, then Charlotte, then Scootaloo. The Behemoth crashes into the sealed off door and crawls through and up to a part the group can't reach yet. And in front of the group was a familiar, and terrible, sight. The Knife subweapon. Jonathan picked it up and sighed, "At least it's something to handle distant foes..." he said as the group entered the immediate next room, finding it to be a save room with a statue similar to the ones Shanoa saved with.

They saved and moved on finding Axe Armors("Been a while since I fought an Axe Armor of Castlevania," Scootaloo said) and killing them as she found they could drop... axes. Duh. But specifically, the Axe Su weapon which Jonathan grabbed... without tossing the knife? "Jonathan, do you just... have two subweapons right now?" Scootaloo asked to which Jonathan was confused before Scootaloo killed an Axe Armor to get the axe and it ejected her Holy Water as usual.

Safe to say Jonathan was shocked. "I thought everyone could hold onto two subweapons, I didn't know it was just a 'me' thing," Jonathan said as Charlotte(And Scootaloo) giggled.

"Duh, of course it's a you thing, subweapons are usually ejected from the holder but you have a special trait from me being your childhood friend, remember, Jonathan?" Charlotte said as Scootaloo realized that Charlotte, being a witch, used a magic spell to make subweapons work very differently for Jonathan.

"You know... I used to have some childhood friends..." Scootaloo mentioned out of the blue as Jonathan picked up the "Wait Cube" which doesn't seem to do anything as Charlotte just sat on top of the statue with Scootaloo. "Really? What happened between you and your friends?" Charlotte asked.

"Eh, we ended up having differing views on things. But I don't expect a child like you to understand," Scootaloo said as Charlotte had her jaw dropped at what Scootaloo just implied. Scootaloo just smirked. Scootaloo and Charlotte got onto the higher area as Charlotte used a "Call Cube" to bring Jonathan to her.

"Jonathan, Scootaloo called me a child," Charlotte said but Jonthan just looked at her like "Okay? What do you want me to do about it?" Charlotte wasn't happy about that.

Finding a magic spell page, Charlotte took it and decided that Scootaloo'd be good target practice. She chanted the spell and suddenly, Scootaloo saw flames. When the flames stopped and Scootaloo recovered, she, Jonathan, and Charlotte had a good laugh. Charlotte because Scootaloo looked like burnt chicken... much to Scootaloo's dismay. They found a room with access to a warp room, a room with the Book of Spirits and Fairy Tome, and a room with a ghostly presence. And soon both a ghost of a human and Rainbow Dash(for some reason) appeared in the room.

"Dash... what the actual hell are you doing here instead of waiting in Equestria?"

"What? Can't a mare assist a heroine and her friends?"

Everyone else in the room was confused by the exchange between Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. At the end of the comversation Scoots and RD were having, it turns out Jonathan had been given a side mission of sorts and she suddenly remembered Estella and her ingredients search... oh no.

Dash looked at Scoots having side-quest related PTSD and decided to step in, "Hey, Scoots, calm. Eric Lecarde, or Wind as he asked to be called, won't require anything past this one quest. Plus, I have your Lizard Tail, found it on my way here," she said causing Scootaloo to look at her and nod, getting her Lizard Tail back. When Jonathan and Charlotte return, they have a piece of the castle map and a potion as Eric Lecarde/Wind gives them... a Lizard Tail... well now they can all access new areas. The first area they go to, after opening a shortcut through the bottom to the entrance room, was a room with a... portrait. What? Upon Charlotte being called into the room she and Scootaloo had a similiar feeling, "This painting... its power is incredible," Charlotte commented as Scootaloo nodded, "Glad to see you sense it as well, this power... it can only aline with a vampiric entitiy's powers," Scootaloo added.

"Yes, this must be how Brauner's controlling the Castle's power." Charlotte said.

"Then let's rip it to shreds and be done!" Jonathan said.

"Impossible. From what I can tell, based on the theory of curse amplification, this picture is a multilayer quantum-space barrier, a kind of paranormal phenomenon."

"Uh... could you translate that to human language?"

"She's saying that portrait is the outermost wall in a series of walls that draw in magic from the castle to regenerate the portrait, making it unbreakable," Scootaloo explained.

"Oh how convenient, so what the hell do we do now?" Jonathan asks.

"I can aline my magic with the painting's so we can enter it. That'll be the best way to circumvent the castle's magic. The risk is quite high, though." Charlotte mentioned that last bit in warning. Jonathan smiled as he said, "No problem. C'mon, what do we have to lose?"

"Our life? Our equipment? Our fucking sanity? We have a lot to lose, Jonathan. Would your father want you to-"

"Don't mention my father!" Jonathan yelled in retort.

"Right, forgot you had daddy issues." Scootaloo said as Charlotte alined her magic with the painting's and suddenly...

Area: City of Haze
Year: 1944

Scootaloo, Jonathan, and Charlotte found themselves in the painting world. "So, we're in the painting now?" Jonathan asked.

"The will of the artist is embodied here," Charlotte replied.

"I sense a powerful presence deep in the area, probably the area's boss monster," Scootaloo stated.

The group went deeper into the area as they found a blue face thing with wings that Scootaloo learned resisted physical attacks like they were nothing. She sighed in annoyence, "Just great..." they still beat it before it attacked. Finding a great sword, Jonathan took it and equipped it. Despite what Scootaloo thought, Jonathan was strong enough to wield the great sword with one hand(mostly).

The group's exploration was thorough, finding a leather whip that Jonathan was quick to equip and test out in his amphidexious(dominate left)-nature. Oh yeah, nothing stands in their way now. The group keeps going deeper, finding a cart with a drill attached to the front and a lever that Jonathan nearly pulled. "Jonathan, no. Not yet, if my thoughts are correct, that cart will only be able to destroy things if someone's on it," Scootaloo said as she got on the cart and saw the drill start going, "Ok, now you can pull the lever." Jonathan pulled the lever and the cart started moving with Scootaloo on it as it destroyed wall after wall until it crashed into a small wall that had to be made from titanium. And now Jonathan and Charlotte had to walk the whole way. Great.

After walking the entire way, they continued forward and found a warp point, a save point, and the entrance to a boss room. They saved before heading to the boss room.

The trio entered the boss room, expecting an easy boss as that was common for first bosses. Well... for Scootaloo at least. Scootaloo felt for a moment, "The presence is much stronger here, that head is probably a part of the boss," she said as Jonathan nodded and appoached the head as it started floating while laughing, a giant suit of armor holding a massive lance crashing down not long after. Jonathan rushed forward, whip in hand, but Dullahan attacked with his lance and sent Jonathan flying towards the wall. Charlotte charged Raging Fire and it dealt decent damage but her low defense made is so that she was one-shot but Dullahan... leaving it and Scootaloo, Scootaloo took a breath as she rushed forward and used a dash attack before she was pierced right through the center of her torso... then everything went dark.

Area: Chaotic Realm
Year: 1944

Dracula was worried, not about the fact that he could lose, oh no. Death weakened Scootaloo so she was next to no issue... only problem... he was stuck in the Chaotic Realm. Sweetie Belle was trying to figure out what was happening as she wanted Dracula back in the world of the living as much as he, himself, did. Then Apple Bloom appeared, "Okay, good news and bad news. Good news: Ah know what's stoppin' Dracula from exitin' this place. Bad news is that we have ta rely on the chicken, a witch of the church, and a Morris who can't even use the full power of the Vampire Killer to undo it..." she said, causing both Sweetie Belle and Dracula to cringe at the idea.

"Isn't there a different way? I don't feel great that we have to rely on those people..."

"Trust meh, ah tried. The paintin's are somekind of multilayer quantum-space barrier that pulls in the castle's magic so they have ta take out the paintin's core monster anyways,"

"So we can't do anything but wait it seems..."

"No worries, Drac, I promise that you'll be back in the world of the living soon. Apple Bloom, keep a careful eye on the magic of the paintings and see how you might be able to replicate it for my own castle." Sweetie Belle said which caused Apple Bloom to nod as she went back to Dracula's, currently Brauner's, castle.

Author's Note

Relics acquired: Change Cube(Allows Charlotte and Jonathan to switch places), Call Cube(Teleports one to the other), Wait Cube(Does nothing?), Fairy Tome/Book of Spirits(Shows enemy names upon hit), Lizard Tail(Slide with down + [Jump], deals low damage)

A chapter without a boss fight!?! What?! Also, that scene with Scootaloo and friends dying, just remember how I did the memories of death in Arc 1(Chapters 1-7). Hehehe. Also, Portrait of Ruin will have the least changed plot out of the arcs written... so yeah. :pinkiecrazy:

Also, first arc where Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom have minor role, woohoo!

Chapter 20: The headless hunt

Area: City of Haze
Year: 1944

Scootaloo stared at the statue as she thought about the occurence that happened just now...

A death memory... I need to tell Jonathan and Charlotte. Scootaloo thought in a new found resolve. She exittled the save room to find Jonathan killing a Slinger skeleton with a smile on his face. Shame Scootaloo's about to ruin that smile. "Jonathan, Charlotte. If we aren't careful, the first boss we'll fight will kill us. It's Dullahan and from what my memory tells me, we'll only be able to damage the torso. Only thing I can really recommend is to not just rush face first into him and use the opportunities to learn his moves and dodge accordingly," As Scootaloo finished apeaking, Jonathan made it clear that he wasn't happy his usual style wasn't going to be happening. Still, it was good information none-the-less.

Going up, the trio found and defeated some Mini-Devils. One having dropped a tonic, a sort of crimson liquid and the first one Scootaloo saw, which would be helpful if Scootaloo or Charlotte needed an MP refill. Then they saw the boss door, its shining red gem just as familiar as before. Scootaloo approaches the door and finds that there's a second sensor as if this door only opens with the input from two people.

Charlotte seemed to realize the situation and approached the boss door to help Scootaloo open it before the whole trio entered to find the Dullahan.

If the number of floating platforms and giant ass suit of armor didn't give away Dullahan's size, the fact that his head has to float up towards the suit of armor's opening, did. Scootaloo smirked at the fact that this be a challenge for once. "Charlotte, use your magic spells from a distance and Jonathan, you keep your distance as well, no use getting close if any hit could be your last without this monster dying," Scootaloo said as she basically just reiterated "Don't get hit."

Scootaloo took the time to use Hellfire despite the heavy strain using it causes her with her low maximum MP. Jonathan rushed forward and used his whip to deal distanced damage as he and Charlotte looked at each other and did a Dual Crush where they summoned some Holy Lightning to deal a lot of damage to Dullahan. Safe to say this developement gave Scootaloo a bit of interest for Jonathan Morris and Charlotte... she just realized she never learned Charlotte's last name. Scootaloo'd have to ask about that later when they had the opportunity because now was not the time.

Scootaloo got to her hooves and smirked, she got a little close and threw two vials of Holy Water down with their expanding flame paths which dealt lots of damage to Dullahan and with Scootaloo and the others ensuring his head can't be put back on his armor, whatever that'd do, it was unlikely that Dullahan could kill them this time because of their familiarity with Dullahan's attacks. But then something changed. Scootaloo didn't expect for Dullahan to suddenly change his base species to a unicorn, that shouldn't have been possible as no amount of magic can do something that crazy. No amount of normal magic, for all intents and purposes.

Yet Dullahan had done it and now his attacks were much worst as he now had the ability to shoot hard magic at the group. "What just happened?" Jonathan asked as everyone avoid the onslaught of attacks from Dullahan.

"It would seem that the monster reconstructed its molecular structure to make this battle harder," Charlotte said in her knowledgable words.

"In simpler words for you, Jonathan, it just transformed," Scootaloo said matter-of-factly. As Dullahan's body went for a lunge at the group, Scootaloo and her friends jumped to the side and tried to attack the body only to realize that... "Shit... it moved the weak point to the head," Scootaloo explained causing everyone to groan.

Safe to say no one was having a fun time chasing after the head, hitting it a few times, then having to run off because the body's trying to skewer them. But it did end after a long while and when Dullahan died a small red orb was left in the place of the body, all three touched it but nothing happened so Scootaloo got out a container and just decided to store the orb thing for later.

"Okay, we just defeated the monster that seemed to be the core of the magic energy," Charlotte commented.

"Does that mean that Brauner can't use the castle's magic now?" Jonathan asked.

"Not entirely. His hold over the castle's magic has indeed decreased but by how much proves... troublesome. It's only decreased a small amount, the magical flow is still out of wack in the castle," Scootaloo explained.

Jonathan didn't look happy at the fact that they did chip work pretty much, and a mysterious lady appearing didn't help much help much. "My, oh, my... I knew I smelled something. Seems like some maggots got inside," she said, confusing everyone.

Jonathan gripped his whip as she showed a sigh of surprise, "A vampire!" He said as he seemed really to fight but Scootaloo put her hoof up to stop him from being rash.

"My, my, such attitude... you dare disrespect someone of my caliber? I am a LADY! Lady Loretta," The mysterious lady, Loretta, said, "As the chicken said, your battle may have weakened us a bit, but I have some tragic news for you... this wasn't the only one of my father's paintings," she added as Scootaloo felt a vein poke through her head at being called a chicken by Loretta.

"I know, I could tell based on the flow of magical energy in conjection to the fact that Brauner's power only weakened a little," Charlotte explained as Loretta laughs.

"Heh-heh-heh... how amusing that this child fancies herself an adult," Loretta said, much at Charlotte's dismay.

"Charlotte, Scootaloo, let's take her!" Jonathan said which Scootaloo and Charlotte instantly agreed with. Jonathan rushes and attempts to strike Loretta with the Vampire Killer... but he freezes and even he's surprised, "The whip!" He says, surprise clear in his voice.

"No way... is that Infirmitas being used by Loretta? That shouldn't be possible though..." Scootaloo said to herself.

"Jonathan, what are you doing?!" Charlotte said in extra clear surprise.

"Unforunately, I have strict orders not to fight you three, now if you'll excuse me," Loretta says as she vanishes right in front of them, leaving the trio with more questions that answers. But first, Scootaloo switched to her Shanoa-like attire and used Infirmitas to undo what Loretta did to Jonathan.

"Like I thought, Loretta used a version of Infirmitas on you, Jonathan, that's why you stopped attacking," Scootaloo commented as Charlotte had a question to ask.

"Isn't Infirmitas latin for Infirmary?" Charlotte asked as Scootaloo nodded.

"Yes but it's also a latin word for Helpless, hence why it made Jonathan unable to attack, it made him helpless," Scootaloo replied as she went back to her usual attire, "The fact of the matter is that we must keep an eye out for Brauner or Loretta now, as well as these paintings since they might hold secrets and upgrades for us," she added as Jonathan recovered from his temperary daze and they moved on from this room.

They find a cube which was also with a broken version of Scootaloo's artifical wings, "What did Death do to my Artifical Wings!?!?" Scootaloo exclaimed in horror at seeing her prized possession ruined like that.

Jonathan and Charlotte felt sorry for the filly who just seemed sad at the destruction of those artifical wings. Scootaloo collected them anyways and jumped seeing her increased jump height, and she moved towards Charlotte and lept off her shoulders to a platform Jonathan and Charlotte couldn't have reached by themselves. Charlotte was annoyed at Scootaloo using her like a footstool. It was bad enough that Jonathan had to do so as well.

A bit of exploring and they found a piece of nun's attire and moved on. They eventually found another cube, the Push Cube, that made Jonathan and Charlotte stronger when pushing together. Scootaloo helped just to speed things up. "Hey Charlotte, mind if I ask you a question?" Scootaloo asked when they finished pushing the carriage and worked their way back to the exit while collecting helpful items.

"Go ahead, Scootaloo," Charlotte replied.

"What's your last name?"

"My full name is Charlotte Aulin, why do you ask?"

"Wanted to know that fact. Plus, I think it's good to know as much as you can about allies since they can make or break a battle." Scootaloo said dismissively and trotted forward a bit faster, leaving Charlotte to think as they went towards the exit to go and return to Dracula's castle.

Author's Note

Bosses beaten: Dullahan

Relic(s) acquired: Acrobat Cube(Allows Charlotte or Jonathan to leap off the other's shoulders), Broken Wings(Increases Scootaloo's jump height and allows jumping off her friends' shoulders), Push Cube(Increase pushing strength by pushing as a team)

Unknown Items obtained: Red orb thingy(Dullahan Soul)

A bit shorter than more recent main chapters. My bad. This one was mainly focused on shpwing how different this adventure will be in terms of progression. But at least Scootaloo got her Artificial wings back, albeit broken. Whoops.

Also, for those wondering, yes. I did a Sorrow games reference and bought the recently released Dominus Collection and am loving it! Beat Malphas in Dawn today to refresh my memory of Dawn. Plan to eventually play Portrait and Ecclesia which, fun fact, is my first time playing any of the DSvanias on officially licensed hardware so... ye. :3

Also, Dracula is going to be peeved by the end of the story, I can assure you.

Chapter 20.5: No sweet dreams for the wicked Sweetie

Area: Sweetie's Dream
Year: 1944?

Sweetie Belle trotted through the unfamiliar halls of her castle. Well, currently unfamiliar. She knew the castle was one of chaos but as she trotted forward, she saw Apple Bloom but... she didn't seem to recognize Sweetie Belle, "Bloom, what's going on?"

Apple Bloom just laughed, "Ah don't know, why don't ya tell meh, intruder? Ya're the one ta break inta the castle without mah mistress' permission," the deathly filly said, causing Sweetie to raise an eyebrow as she looked at herself.

Barren... no mark, no outfit... nothing that shows she's still the same Sweetie Belle. Well, except for the red eyes and her pointed fangs. Sweetie decided that this was enough and tried to trot past Apple Bloom who stopped her with a lift of her scythe.

Sweetie attempted to use magic only to find that she couldn't as if she had some kind of magic inhabitor... as if she was the weakling she was before the incident in 1798...

Sweetie stared at Apple Bloom who just smirked at her. Sweetie Belle sighed, "Bloomy, please let me go up to the throne room?" She said in an uncertain tone, unsure if it'd make any difference... but it did. Apple Bloom put her scythe away and muttered incoherently.

Sweetie climbed as she reached the top and found... Scootaloo? "Oh, so you're the pest that's stormed my castle? I expected you to be stronger but it seems I was wrong in assuming that." She said her voice tainted with a literal bloodlust. Scootaloo took a swig of her drink before speaking again, "And while I well admit that you have been interesting to watch... it's about time I put an end to you. So enough talk! Have at you!" Scootaloo tosses her glass onto the ground as Sweetie Belle was confused about Scootaloo being in her spot...

Scootaloo laughed as she flew around before stopping and releasing a series of feathers at her. Sweetie, not expecting this, gets hurt by it so bad she's on her knees. Scootaloo laughs as she kicks the last bit of life from Sweetie.

Area: Chaotic Realm
Year: 1944

Sweetie Belle awoke with a start. That dream... why did it feel real? Why... did she dream that Scootaloo was in her spot? That... that couldn't have been anything but a dream... right?

Sweetie Belle told herself that it was just a dream, not willing to accept that it might be her mind showing her how weak she really is right now. She turned her head around her mini room Chaos built just for her, knowing just how much Chaos, Dracula, Death, and Apple Bloom, Bloomy as Sweetie Belle had gotten used to calling her, cared about her wellbeing. Finding a bottle of rich wine and a plate of specially made eggs on an end table, the one responsible being a Skeleton Waiter, "Greetings mistress, I was told by the master to prepare for your awakening. You've been hard at work and deserve the food and drink," he said, Sweetie not paying much mind.

"Thank you, you are dismissed, sir," She said, idly biting into the eggs while the Skeleton Waiter left her room. Sweetie Belle was lost in thought. Her idle consumption of the eggs went unnoticed by herself.

Why do I feel... so useless? She thought to herself, knowning that the answer had to do with Dracula not being able to go back to his castle. She then went back to thinking about her dream, or a nightmare as it seemed more actually, and she put the plate of mostly finished eggs to the side, unaware she'd been eating them, Wha, how did... I must have been eating them while I wasn't focused. She thought. She sighed and got out of the bed and trotted out into the whole of the Chaotic Realm and just trotted around to nowhere in particular.

As Sweetie trotted, she found the currently being constructed version of her new castle, she sighed as she trotted in, not sure what she's expecting to see. Her castle was still incomplete, the layout wasn't finalized nor the colors... it just seemed like a labrinth more than anything. She trotted, not really sure where she was heading as she found what was going to be her throne room. She had a seat in her throne as she poored herself a glass of wine and started drinking. "Bloomy... I know you're nearby," Sweetie Belle said as Apple Bloom looked into the throne room.

"Sweetie? Everythin' good?"

"No... it isn't... I had a nightmare, I trotted without purpose to here, and now I'm considering the fact that I might just be useless..."

"Ya ain't useless, Sweetie. Sure ya lost thrice, twice ta the chicken in some way, shape, or form, one ta Shanoa exclusively, and sure ya aren't able ta help Dracula get back ta his castle, but does that make ya useless? No, in fact, ah think everyone thinks the opposite. I see how Scoots battles ya and sure, she does it out of doin' the right thin', but she looks like she actually enjoys it, ah wouldn't be surprised if during her current adventure, she's secretly thinkin' 'bout when ya attack with the new castle. Trust meh, if it wasn't fer ya, ah probably won't be the same Bloomy ah am today."

Sweetie Belle heard Apple Bloom speak and knew, even just a little, that she could trust her little Bloomy. Sweetie took a sip and smiled, "Thanks Bloomy, needed that. What do you say we get to work on finishing this place?"

"That's the spirit, Sweetie!"

Author's Note

Just a small chapter focusing on Sweetie Belle for a moment, don't worry, the PoR content coming soon because of the fact that I have big plans for PoR's later parts not-plot stuff.

Chapter 21: Fallen Monster

Area: Entrance
Year: 1944

Scootaloo, Jonathan, and Charlotte return to the castle and go to talk to Wind/Eric Lecarde and Rainbow Dash. "Goodness Scoots, what happened to the artifical wings?!" RD asked out of the blue.

"Ugh, thanks for reminding me of my situation..." Scootaloo said in annoyence as she looked towards Wind, "Wind, I need to ask... does the name 'Loretta' ring any bells?" she asked getting Wind's undevided attention.

"Yes, she was my daughter along side her sister Stella... why do you ask?" Wind asked in a state of confusion.

"She's a vampire and thinks this 'Brauner' person is her father." Scootaloo explained which did cause Wind's eyes to go wide.

"I... I knew my daughters were here but..." Wind started saying in concern.

"Squirt, how the hell did you know that?"

"After me, Jonathan, and Charlotte beat Dullahan, who could for some reason transform into a unicorn, we met Loretta and she basically said 'Fuck you, you only weakened us a bit as my father has more of these sons of bitches' more or less."

"Sums it up well," Jonthan said slightly annoyed at being reminded, "Especially since I couldn't use the whip on her... well, I can't use it anyways but I meant that I couldn't use it at this weak ass state on her."

"The whip itself stopped you, a Morris can only use the full power of the Vampire Killer through the help of a member of the Lecarde family but even that has a cost. A Morris using the whip loses part of their soul, your Father, my friend, John Morris, didn't teach you to use the whip because he wanted you to learn to not rely on it," Wind explained.

"Told you he probably had a good reason, Jonathan, since I'm pretty sure you like having a soul," Scootaloo said.

"Seems that Eric knows a lot about that whip... wait a moment... did John know of the consquences before using the whip?" RD asked, eager to learn which was odd for Scootaloo as Rainbow usually doesn't. Wind shook his head however.

"No, the only reason we knew this information was because after we beat Elizabeth Bartley, we used magic in the hospital to look at John's inner health," Wind explained.

"I noticed something interesting I didn't notice before, if both of you are ghosts then how are you not on the castle's side?" Charlotte asked.

"Twilight magically boosted me before I came here."

"I used magic to bind myself to the castle and cast a barrier on this room to defend from the castle, including mentally," Wind explained making Rainbow look like a fool.

"Regardless, we have paintings to find and monsters to defeat," Scootaloo explained as she left the room to explore more of the castle, leaving Jonathan, Charlotte, Eric, and RD alone.

Jonathan and Charlotte went to catch up with Scootaloo to find that she got stuck in front of a boss door again, "Curse this damn castle and curse it reminding me of Castlemania," she said in clear distain. Jonathan and Charlotte both realized that they now have to open the door with Scootaloo or themselves. What Scootaloo failed to notice was that she had an entrance at the lower level as when Jonathan and Charlotte opened the door they were immediately pulled in, leaving Scootaloo outside the boss door.

"... well shit."

Scootaloo heard stomping below her, she went down and found the Behemoth stomping back into the arena and Scootaloo followed it with a dash attack which dealt massive damage to the Behemoth. "Did Brauner expect me to be locked out? Laughable, very laughable," Scootaloo mentioned as she tossed a vial of holy water down using the last of her hearts, "Ugh, shit. I'm out of hearts now."

The Behemoth opened his mouth and several fleshy tendrils flew from it's mouth in an effort to attack Charlotte who just back dashed to avoid it while Joanthan attacked with his leather whip. Scootaloo grabbed Fatal Wind and used one last dash attack causing the beast to screech in pain as it fell down and died. "Was I the only one expecting that to be harder?" Jonathan asked as both Scootaloo and Charlotte nodded.

Moving forward, Scootaloo realized just how much faster she was growing compared to her first adventure, at about the same point in her first adventure, she was still consistently having death memories and now? They aren't even really needing to save to be safe. That goes to show how experienced she was and fast she was growing.

Scootaloo found a wall that she could break and entered, finding very little to worry about. "Did you find anything?" Charlotte asked but Scootaloo just shook her head.
The group continued going downwards until they found a doorway that seemed... different in nature to the other area doorways encountered until now.

"This is door is enchanted with both Chaos' magic and Equestrian magic... why? I've felt no Equestrian magic until now so... why is this door the first case of Equestrian magic in this castle?" Scootaloo asked as she trotted through the door.

Area: Buried Chamber
Year: 1944

Scootaloo looked around the Buried Chamber before turning to Jonathan and Charlotte who were now ponies. Specifically, Jonathan was a red pegasus and Charlotte was a blue unicorn, "Woah, this is weird, how do you feel Charlotte?" Jonathan asked turning towards Charlotte, revealing his Cutie Mark to be a whip and sword overlapping to form a cross shape.

"I'd probably be better if: 1) there was an explanation for this and 2) I knew why I was a filly," Charlotte said, letting Scootaloo get a look at her Cutie Mark, which was a book with a pentagram on the cover.

"I can give you an explanation alright... the door was enchanted with a special transformation magic to transform humans like you into ponies so you can better fit in, which should
even stay true if you use a transfomative spell and then undo that."

"Soooo... we're ponies in this section with the same abilities as the ponies of your world, am I getting that right?"

"... yes. In laymans terms, yes."

"Doesn't explain why I'm the size of a filly."

"Guess the transformative magic saw you for who you are, a filly." Scootaloo said as she trotted forward...before realizing that Jonathan and Charlotte faceplanted in their lack of knowledge of how to walk... this was already a bad start.

Half an hour later...

Scootaloo had taken the time to slowly, and it was a very slow process, teach Charlotte and Jonathan how to trot/walk. Finally.

Now they could finally start going forward. Going forward, the group encounter spinning platforms that really didn't seem to like them on it. And it wasn't long before they saw why this area's entrance was enchanted. A deep purple unicorn who was known by many as the Silent Night and was suspected of being Silent Void's daughter or granddaughter due to how little she spoke, and this time was no different. Silent Night said nothing as she trotted forward.

"She's creepy... who even is that?"

"Silent Night, a pony the Princesses and the ponies of Ponyville had kept an eye on. She doesn't speak much causing her to be suspected to be related to the infamous Silent Void but other than that no evidence linking her to the dark minions Sweetie Belle's amassing,"

"Uuuuhhh... okay, so she might be a threat but we're not sure, got it."

Exploring the Buried Chamber didn't do much but allow them to find a door out of the strange area and into...

Area: Great Stairway
Year: 1944

Entering the new area had Jonathan and Charlotte back in their human forms and finding both the repaired Artifical Wings but also another cube which was the Stone of Flight. Scootaloo found she could just double jump with her wings currently as she'd have to work back up to full flight.

Not long after they entered the area, they find Death in a room alone. "So you three have arrived," he said, correcting his pin.

"Death! So you've allied yourself with Brauner then!" Jonathan said aloud but Death shook his head.

"No, I'm waiting for the opportunity to deal with Brauner so I can open the way for my master to return, I will say that I underestimated how long you'd survive, Scootaloo."

"Heh, goes to show you shouldn't get in over your head if you know what's good for you and messing with me and my belongings is a sign of someone getting in over their head."

"But then what is your plan? If you wish to defeat Brauner, you must have a plan to do so." Charlotte told Death.

"You'll find out... hahahahaha..." Death's laughter continued as he vanished.

"Let's find a place to recuperate before we continue exploring, just to be safe, you know?" Scootaloo said as Charlotte and Jonthan nodded and they went to a nearby save room.

Author's Note

Bosses beaten: Behemoth

Relics Acquired: Artifical Wings(Allows Scootaloo to Multi jump), Stone of Flight(Allows Jonathan and Charlotte to double jump)

Shorter chapter, what is going on with the Portrait Arc. Simple. The previous arcs, due to the fact that there isn't a "time limit" in the story since Castlevania and Caslemania make the surrounding area have enternal night, I was like "Let's do the action" but for Portrait I figured I'd focus a bit more on character development since, at least I feel so, it seems the earlier arcs were super lacking in them, sure there was character development, but it doesn't feel right to me, ya know.

Maybe I'm rambling to hide the actuality of me being lazy... tell me what you think of the more "Character-Relationshop" focused stuff versus the "Battle" focused ones since the battles are pretty much cakewalks anyways.

Also, tip, the side quests Wind gives are technically canon for this but... not all of them. The only canon ones are the ones that give new skills and weapons(Exclusively Whips and Tomes) while RD has some extra stuff for Scootaloo to do that only gives her higher max stats.

Chapter 22: Gooey Sandy... Ponies?

Area: Great Stairway
Year: 1944

Scootaloo, Jonathan, and Charlotte all left the save room and got ready to progress. Scootaloo having a letter appear out of nowhere from an old friend. "Okay, why the hell did Fabricator send me a letter?" She said as she opened it and got to reading.

Dear Scootaloo,

I did it. With help from Wilter and several other demons they had met, I did it. I achieved immortality. And while I know this is sudden but... I think we all can help you during that "battle of 1999" bullshit you're preparing for. Giving the bitches of Castlemania the what for during 1999 well be wonderful and Wilter, who has taken to being called Wilted Bloom or just Wilted, had become THE demon lord of Hell, isn't that a surprise?

I never, in a million years, expected the Pacifistic demon I went to school with to become the demon lord so... things will be interesting. And obviously, I know that this seems random but... I can't wait for you to meet the other friends we made. Anyways... running outta ink now, sorry.

Signed
Fabricator(Second in command of demon lord Wilter)

Scootaloo folded the paper up and put it away. When she did, the trio went farther into the area finding a new boss door. Smiles ran throughout the group.

Scootaloo and friends enter the boss room and find a container and Scootaloo already knew what to do. She bucked the container to the platforms. "Charlotte! Jonathan! Just attack the container, I'll handle Keremet himself!" Scootaloo announced as Jonathan and Charlotte nodded and got to work.

Scootaloo smirked as the gooey demon rose from the container and, using her dash attack, didn't even stand a bleeding chance. Keremet died fast. The container broke... but, like with Dullahan... something changed.

Instead of melting away, Keremet instead took the form of an Alicorn and started creating fake duplicates of itself.

"Shit, okay, now what, Scootaloo?" Jonathan said as he brandished his whip

"Uhhh... each of us take one of the Keremets?" Scootaloo said, uncertain. This was new and unexpected... just like when Dullahan did it.

"Uh, not sure if I should be the bearer of bad news but... uh... Keremet is filled with Equestrian magic and has been the entire fight." That statement from Charlotte caused Scootaloo to go wide eyed.

They had Equestrian magic... from the start!? That added many levels of complication tothe formula, if boss monsters had Equestrian magic... what's to say normal monsters won't have it eventually?! Now that was a thought that horrified Scootaloo. She was shocked she didn't sense the Equestrian magic in Keremet herself but Charlotte did... she remembered the signature of the door and pony zone.

Scootaloo still wanted them to follow through with their plan and so Scootaloo rushed to deal with a Keremet that was charging a heal spell while Jonathan dealt with one who was about to fire a gooey fireball. Charlotte instead charging her Raging Fire spell.

Scootaloo used Hellfire to finish off her Keremet, not proving to be the real one as the other two stayed up. She went and assisted Jonathan who was having trouble fighting his since it used a protection spell after the fire ball failed. "Ugh, this stupid winged unicorn is being a piece of shit that deserves to fucking die!" Jonathan announced without complication as Scootaloo attacked his Keremet and finished it off, it not proving to be the real one either, just leaving the real one.

Luckily Keremet was outnumbered three to one! It fell after not too long.

Now Scootaloo had to think, he noticed that Keremet has no cutie mark and Dullahan's was hidden by armor... but... then he remembered Death. He has a pin like those of the Mirror World... now, is it just a funny happenstance? Maybe, but Scootaloo wasn't willing to take chances.

Moving forward in the Great Stairway revealed more save areas, some warp rooms, and a new Portrait, this time it lead to the Sandy Grave.

Area: Sandy Grave
Year: 1944

Scootaloo and friends went forward, finding Mummies and a new enemy called a Sand Worm which actually hid a HP max up under it's burrowed sand. Then they reached the pyramid.

"Is that a transition door in a portrait?" Charlotte commented as Scootaloo looked at it... it was... out of place.

"That leads to a pony zone, I can sense the Equestrian magic in it," Scootaloo said as the trio went through it and found that it was correct...

Jonathan and Charlotte were ponies again. Jonathan still a pegasus and Charlotte still a unicorn. "Welp, we're back in weird town now," Jonathan commented with Scootaloo shaking her head in disapproval.

After utilizing a save point, Scootaloo and friends ignored the Red Skeletons since they offered no threat and just rose up again anyways. Scootaloo realized that they could do better splitting up to navigate as much as possible so Scootaloo has Jonathan and Charlotte go downwards while Scootaloo goes forward.

Big mistake. Scootaloo found a vampire in a big purple outfit with both Loretta and, presumedly, Stella. "Brauner, right? Been waiting to meet you. I see you brought the stolen sisters as well," Scootaloo commented, taking notice of both the sisters faces and Brauner's own, and his face was her favorite, a look of surprise, as if he thought nobody could have known he didn't technically relate to Stella or Loretta.

"So you enter my painting and deny my relation to my own daughters?" Brauner said, his calm face not surprising Scootaloo at all.

"Yes, father is gifting you with his presence and this is how you treat him, you pathetic chicken!?" Stella said as she drew her sword while Loretta attempts to hold her back.

Loretta gave Scootaloo a look of... contemplation. "If what you say is true, chicken, then... what is the proof to show it?" Loretta asked as Scootaloo smirked.

"Loretta, let's take a look back at what happened when Jonathan Morris tried to attack you with the Vampire Killer in the City of Haze. It failed, not because he couldn't use it, but rather... because of your blood preventing it from being vaible... Loretta Lecarde," as Scootaloo said the last bit, it seemed a bit of a... realization occured in Loretta, she let Stella go but Scootaloo just teleported out of the way. "Now Brauner, let me ask you... why didn't you use the chance Loretta gave you back in the City of Haze to kill me, Jonathan, and Charlotte?" Scootaloo asked Brauner who was starting to visibly sweat realizing he got on the business end of a monsterous creature.

"Uh... I, uh, didn't see you as a threat at that point... it... seems I am wrong," Brauner said as he commanded the sisters to leave... only... Loretta stayed, but Brauner was already pissed enough so he decided to leave.

"Loretta, are you in there?" Scootaloo asked at the seemingly frozen Loretta. But she quickly nodded.

"Yes... I think... we need a purification spell soon, there should be one in this painting, Sanctuary, if we are fast enough I and my sister could be saved," Loretta said as Jonathan and Charlotte entered the room, with smiles.

"Well well, looks like Scootaloo saved Loretta but... what happened to Stella?" Jonathan asked as his smile wavered. But Scootaloo wasn't going to answer.

"Right now we need to focus on finding a purification spell to save Loretta, luckily, there might be one in this painting by the name of Sanctuary," Scootaloo said, focused on the current moment versus the future.

Jonathan's wings flared up and he looked in confusion. "Are my wings supposed to do that?" Jonathan asks and Scootaloo nods... Loretta is just confused why Jonathan and Charlotte are ponies now.

The trio progressed through the pyramid and, with Scootaloo's assistance, found the Sanctuary spell and used it to purify Loretta before moving on and killing a Persephone or two on the way to the boss of the area and picking up a strange object which revealed to be a new Dual Crush called 1,000 Blades.

"So you two can have a variety of Dual Crushes that you just pick and choice from?"

"I mean... yeah. As a team we started out with Rush but we worked together to make Holy Lightning, which was mainly Charlotte's idea."

"Yep! I did my research and so did the church. They figured out how Dual Crushes work through the old method of having subweapons equipped to each person partaking the Dual Crush and took notes of what magic needed to replicated somehow by using information from some of the best mages of Europe and North America, thus by using the law of magical realivity, we could take the metaphysical properties of the magic itself and then alter them without changing the actual magical properties and-"

"Basically, the church did research on how Dual Crushes work and learned how to replicate the effect without the requirement of a subweapon."

"You didn't have to cut Charlotte off, Jonathan." Scootaloo said as Loretta just kinda watched.

"Is this normal for you three?" Loretta asked as all three nodded, "Okay, remind me to not continue exploring with you three after this painting."

"Consider it done," Scootaloo and Charlotte said while Jonathan simply said no problem.

The group went higher before finding a switch and... Silent Night. "Who is that?" Loretta asked as Silent Night turned towards the group, her eyes empty and unfocused.

"You should not be here. This location is not for foreigns to explore." Silent Night spoke but her voice sounded... empty... monotonous...

Scootaloo felt another energy signature in the area... one she's familiar with as it's the signature of a changeling, but not just any changeling... an admiral, none of which gave up loyalty to Chrysalis, who must have done something to Silent Night.

"Silent Night, mind telling me what it is you're doing?" Scootaloo asked but Silent Night never answered as she vanished in a flash of light. "Shit."

"Well, guess we know she's probably an enemy," Charlotte said.

The group went higher in the pyramid until they found the boss room, Loretta stopping Jonathan from entering the room. "What the hell, Loretta?!" Jonathan asked as he watched Scootaloo and Charlotte enter the boss room.

"If I remember correctly, Jonathan, you being in there will be a liability because the boss of this area is Astarte, a temptress using Cleopatra's appearence, so you can't assist without risking becoming her minion and I doubt Scootaloo would hold back fighting you if you weren't the heir to the Vampire Killer," Loretta explains.

Inside the boss room...

Scootaloo and Charlotte enter the room and notice the obvious thing. "Okay, I have no idea why I'm looking straight at Cleopatra," Charlotte said in... confusion.

"I don't care because I notice that she has Equestrian magic as well and take a look!" Scootaloo says as she points at a small heart-shaped tattoo on Astarte's arm, "Seems this one wears her cutie mark on her body like a sleeve."

"That means... she's the temptress Astarte!" Charlotte says as she readies her Tome of Arms while Scootaloo shoots Hellfire, and notices that Hellfire does next to nothing.

"So fire isn't good to use, got it," Scootaloo makes that mental note as she tries various elemental attacks... before giving up with that idea as she realizes just how low damage she's doing.

Charlotte, on the other hoof/hand, was doing magic better by using Gale Force(a spell she acquired back in the City of Haze) to deal massive slash damage. Scootaloo attacks using Fatal Wind to deal massive danage herself as well. And Astarte tries to use Temptation and it fails on both of her assilents... safe to say that Astarte wished she had never met the group.

When Astarte fell, Jonathan and Loretta entered the room and congradulated Scootaloo and Charlotte and the victory and they celebrated with a save to heal the injuries and ready for the oncoming battles.

Author's Note

Bosses beaten: Keremet, Astarte

Sooooooo... uhm... I can explain where this went...

So... I made this chapter to showcase that even the titular portraits aren't safe from the pony zones and that, even if a boss has Equestrian magic, that doesn't mean they'll choose to use it. Both Dullahan and Keremet were desperate while Astarte was accepting of failure. She'll return tho, dw.

Now, since Loretta's been purified early, Brauner will take Loretta's place in the battle against Stella in the Tower of Death, and Silent Night will take Loretta's place in the battle at the Master's Keep :3

"It's hopeless" -Stella

"I'm about to ruin her whole career." -Scootaloo

Chapter 23: A Foolish Pony Nation

Area: Entrance
Year: 1944

"I know I've said it already but I seriously missed walking on my feet and not having fur all over my body. And have I mentioned-"

"How you hate the wings flaring up, and the lack of hands, and the overly cutesy face, yes. You've mentioned it five damn times!" Scootaloo said, annoyed with Jonathan.

"Damn, sorry pissy pants."

The trio were now without Loretta, having dropped her off with Wind and RD and explained the current... situation.

Half an hour ago...

Scootaloo was looking at everyone in the room, making sure she had their attention. "So, I need to let you that don't know about some... discoveries that were made... there are boss monsters with Equestrian magic in this castle as well as whole sections filled with the stuff. So far, Dullahan, Keremet, and Astarte have had Equestrian magic, Astarte extra clear by a heart-shaped tattoo on her arm that isn't a part of her in most stories about her, and that's just pulling from what I know since this damn castle is anything but normal already," Scootaloo said, making Rainbow Dash slightly worried.

"Hey Squirt? Didn't you say that during 1813 that some ponies who worked for Sweetie Belle brought Equestrian magic and it turned an entire forest into a sort of copy of the Everfree?" Rainbow asked and Scootaloo already knew where she was heading.

"Yes, but there's something else... I think a Changeling admiral's behind it. The reason I think that is that when we found Silent Night the second time, which is when we also learned she might be spreading Equestrian magic in this place and its portraits, she had empty unfocused eyes and I felt the energy signature of a changeling admiral but I have no clue if the changeling admiral has anything to do with Silent Night's unfocused state." Scootaloo looked at the humans in the room and realized that... they were confused. "Basically a changeling admiral is a stronger changeling with one power no other changeling has such as stealing cutie marks and thus special moves, or just straight up mind control," Scootaloo explained.

"So we need to keep an eye out for a changeling, no problem."

"I'm pretty sure there is a problem though, aren't changelings shapeshifters?"

"Yes but it's purely appearence made to trick and lie, if we use our magic to scan it then we'll have no problem seeing through the facade."

"Eh, Scoots has dealt with those motherbuckers before so I don't expect her to be having any issues with those bugs."

Back to the present.

Scootaloo was through looking back for the moment as she and her friends kept moving forward in the search for another portrait, Scootaloo used her wings to quadruple jump to a small platform out of reach of Jonathan and Charlotte and found... "Are you actually shitting me? Why did I waste my time coming up here for a worse piece of equipment for my friends?!" Scootaloo threw the Copper Plate at the nearby wall and watched as it fell and revealed a secret boss door. "How much did this incarnation of Castlevania draw from Castlemania? This is exactly how Fabricator's boss door was hidden... granted, that time, it was a required fight and hiding it behind a wall might have left me lost if I wasn't attentive as fuck but I swear these hidden walls are a pain to find now for some reason." Scootaloo commented as she opened the boss door on her own.

Inside the boss room, Scootaloo saw a simple, bipedal, sky blue bunny but... something was seriously wrong about it. "Mommies and daddies aren't always right, they could be planning to leave you..." She said, her voice raspy and filled with distain as she moves a paint brush around, changing the room to one more befitting of a battle arena. "And little ponies need to face destruction... Maxxie, Wilty... we have a target!" The bunny announced as a pink dog with a massive hole in it's mouth and a yellow two-tailed cat with a heavily distorted face both came from the shadows. The bunny gave a thumbs up with her bloodied teeth clear. The dog raised a paw as if greeting but the hole where it's muzzle would be and the eye voids for eyes make it... rather unsettling. As for the cat... it stands there, holding a pencil and paper.

Scootaloo got ready to attack as the bunny pulled out her paint brush and painted up a monster, "I've made a masterpiece," she said as the cat started writing on the paper and dictated what the monster does through it. What makes it worse is that any damage Scootaloo does to it is immediately healed by the bunny.

"This is fucking stupid," Scootaloo said as she accidently used the monster to charge straight at the cat and the two hit causing the monster to be without command. Scootaloo smirked as she attacked the bunny, who was fittingly named "Hare". "And here I was thinking pony names were getting weird, but no. A bunny literally named Hare. Could things be any weirder?" Scootaloo asked as she used a dash attack on Hare and hit the dog, named Maxxie thus making the cat Wilty, in the process. And as Scootaloo realized that they were down, she realized it was time to finish Wilty off to ensure the rest of this battle goes smoothly.

Wilty got up as Scootaloo was about to attack but then grabbed his paper and pencil to write something and as Scootaloo attacked she missed and instead struck the paper, completely ruining it. "So you attempt to wield God's hand, and now will pay for your hubris," Scootaloo said as she pierced Wilty through the head, killing the cat.

As soon as the other two saw what Scootaloo had done, they realized they signed up for death. "Listen listen... us critters don't have to die... right?" Hare said, sweating nerviously... but Scootaloo just smirked as she made it clear they were dying for the experience they give. Hare gulped.

Area: Great Stairway
Year: 1944

Scootaloo returned to her friends with the biggest grin on her face. The group was in a part of the Great Stairway that shared design with the Entrance for some reason. The group found Liliths and Spittle Bones in this area but both were painstakingly easy. Same with the slingers in the area(WHY?! THESE WERE IN CITY OF HAZE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BUCKING ADVENTURE!) that decided to get in Scootaloo and her friend's way.

"I'd say that I'm getting close to my strength from the end of my journey during 1813," Scootaloo said as life made it mad clear she was not going to have a good time.

The group went into a room accessed from a hole in the ceiling and found: a warp room, a save room, a secret room in the ceiling, and a portrait. But the portrait itself was odd, unlike the previous ones which were completely Brauner's work, this one matched a pony artist's style, if Scootaloo remembers the artist was named Pyrite or something along those lines, but it still held the distinct gothtic style that the others had. "How the hell did somepony copy Pyrite's art style while also keeping the gothtic style? How the hell do we know this one won't kill upon entry?"

"I hate saying this but... only one way to find out..."

Area: Mansion of Fools
Year: 1944

Upon hitting the ground, Scootaloo felt the ground and realized it was definitely a wooden floor she was on. Looking at her friends made her realize that they were ponies here. A whole portrait that's a pony zone? Shit's getting real, real fast.

Scootaloo was shot out of her reverie by the fact that she and her friends were in a mansion and if the other portraits were anything to indicate, they'd likely find lots of enemies that'd fit in with the mansion setting. Now that creates a question of who's the boss of the area? Scootaloo was eager to find out.

It took several minutes but Jonathan and Charlotte to get used to the area. "So despite it only having been 45 minutes since we were last in weird town, we're back but this time as part of a whole portrait..." Jonathan commented as Scootaloo nodded.

The trio moved forward and found Persephones, skeletons, and ghost dancers(Which were last seen in the City of Haze) but they prompted no issue. Skeleton Waiters roamed the castle with their plates of curry and the wine glasses as a Skeleton Bartender made a cocktail to be put in the wine glasses. Also, should it be mentioned that all of the enemies are the pony versions? "Even the enemies have pony varients? I knew of Skeletons having one but Persephone? Why them?" Charlotte asked as Scootaloo shrugged.

"To be honest, I stopped caring a while ago since it's Pinkie Pie levels of unexplanable," Scootaloo commented and ended the conversation.

As the trio moved forwards, they kept defeating basic enemies with... minimal effort. They even found the odd Ectoplasm here and there but they fell just as easily as the rest. And the circus room's Killer Clowns and Coppelias but they weren't that useful, they got a card from each of them but what use could a card be?

Actually... maybe Scootaloo shouldn't judge the card by it's suit since they might be required items.

Jonathan had used the Knife a lot just for the distance but now, suddenly, he threw three of them... did he get cocky enough to do that or was it an accident? Regardless, the group found a room that had a cog but... Scootaloo looked at the room and noticed that it... seemed familiar...

We are one... we are many...

Granfaloon/Legion's room...

Jonathan picked up the cog and Scootaloo watched as the familiar ball of dead bodies rose up. "Fucking hell, it's motherfucking Legion," Scootaloo said in "mild" annoyence.

"A familiar foe... if so... we are one... we are many... we are Legion!" the many voices said as Scootaloo jumped before dash attacking, Jonathan and Charlotte resorting to using subweapons/magic to deal damage to Legion.

"Shit! This thing has tentacles that definitely don't look fun," Jonathan said as he finally broke a section off, "And the groans are like... what's the opposite of a symphony?"

"A cacophony; a harsh discordant mixture of sounds."

"Yeah, that, the groans are like a cacophony!"

Scootaloo destroyed a section of Legion's shell which soon met her face-to-face with a tentacle about to fire a laser. Luckily Scootaloo knew better and dodged the laser... shame this fight wasn't going to be how Scootaloo expected it since Shadowfreight decided to arrive and throw Scootaloo into a nightmare, leaving Jonathan and Charlotte to deal with Legion while Shadowfreight and Scootaloo fought inside her own head.

Just as Charlotte and Jonathan each destroyed a section of Legion's shell, Scootaloo expelled Shadowfreight from her body and used a dash attack on it, causing it to fade into nothingness, before Scootaloo did a dash attack to destroy the last section of Legion's shell, allowing the group to target Legion itself and with three powerful ponies(two of which were humans made ponies by the pony zone) attacking it... safe to say it didn't last long.

With Legion dead, the trio turned to leave only to find Silent Night at the entrance of the room. "So Legion and... Shadowfreight failed... foreigns have no reason... in the portraits... it took too long to make this portrait for Brauner..." Silent Night spoke, her empty monotone voice still there and Scootaloo felt the changeling admiral's presence again.

"Come out changeling! I know you're there!" Scootaloo announced as the changeling admiral appeared... the one of the recon squad... Mental Sap.

"My my, clever aren't you, filly? I didn't expect any less from the enemy of my Queen and our ally. Yes, I'm here, the one and only Mental Sap!" He spoke in a raspy voice that was common among changelings but with a level of clarity no other changeling has.

"I bet you're why Silent Night is nearly lifeless, you took a page out of Chrysalis' book and used your powers to make her mindless!" Scootaloo yelled as Mental Sap just laughed.

Jonathan and Charlotte grabbed their weapons as Mental Sap shook his head disapprovingly. "Not yet, Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin... I have no desire to fight either of you two, my beef is with Scootaloo but not yet... I can tell Scootaloo isn't up to par with herself yet... I want to fight and destroy Scootaloo's full power even if it kills me. Because once she's dead... my fellow admirals can feed on all the love we could ever ask for." Mental Sap vanished with Silent Night soon after.

They group went to save after that shit hole of an encounter.

Author's Note

Bosses beaten: Replaced Critter Trio, Legion.

Relics acquired: Critical Art(press forward twice then attack to unlease a special move, Jonathan only)

So... to clarify...the Pyrite of this timeline is different from the one Lucar made. I just wanted to reference him by having a very similiar pony in ancient Equestrian history... and yes. This means Burnt Paradise is different now that Nation of Fools is the Mansion of Fools.

Also, changeling admirals are a thing and, as mentioned in the story, they are loyal to Chrysalis even now with the metamorphosed changelings(what I call Morphlings) being a thing.

And yes, Sweetie dark minions are only growing.

Chapter 24: Less than Stellar flaws

Area: Tower of Death
Year: 1944

Scootaloo, Jonathan, and Charlotte entered this area and found Gaibon in the very first room. Gaibon looked at Scootaloo and immediately fleed. "Shame, it would have been fun to give Death's little minions a fun taste of pain," Scootaloo said. Nobody said anything about it. The group found a boss room, a save room, a warp room, and an area that Scootaloo could use to access the rest of the Tower of Death.

Scootaloo entered the rest of the Tower of Death and got to work exploring, finding a Rose Stem Whip for Jonathan who was still using the Chain Whip from the Sandy Grave and a warp to take her back to the others, which she used.

She gave Jonathan the whip and they saved before going to fight the boss... or well... Jonathan and Scootaloo were, Charlotte was locked out. Shit.

Jonathan looked around, "Hey wait, Charl? Where are you Charlotte?" Jonathan asked confused.

Scootaloo taps Jonathan's shoulder, "Morris! We have company," Scootaloo said in a tone that she knew caught the attention of others while gesturing to Stella.

"I'd grown tired of waiting since you stole my sister, you monsters!" Stella spoke in a state of unbridled rage.

"Please stop! You don't have to fight against us, Stella! We're trying to help you, we do not want to fight!"

"Yes, as fun as it'd be to kill you, I doubt anyone want to see Stella dead on the ground, just come on and surrender so we can purify you, Stella."

"No, I shall tear you limb from limb by myself!" Stella drew a sword and got ready to fight. Scootaloo and Jonathan weren't pleased but had no other option but to fight. Jonathan used his Rose Stem Whip to attack Stella while Scootaloo kept her distance...

Something felt off... very off...

Why was Stella so easy? There's no way she's this weak... right?

Then she near instantly teleported behind Jonathan while saying "It's hopeless" then slashing Jonathan while his back was towards her! Scootaloo jumped and caught Jonathan nefore setting him down in a corner so he can rest before fighting again.

"Stella! You didn't give Jonathan time to react to that! Are you mentally insane?!" Scootaloo said as she got ready to turn into a bat(something she hadn't done since 1798).

"How dare a stupid horse like you call me mentally ill!?" Stella had done the unthinkable... she called Scootaloo a horse which, thanks to Twilight and Alucard, the entire world should know that it's a slur to ponies.

Scootaloo didn't hold back as she Wing Smashed into Stella before untransforming and attacking with her rapier with new-found vigor. When she was done, Stella was laying on the ground. "Word of advice: Don't call me or anypony a horse unless you want to be slashed down, I can handle being called a chicken, but horse is not a word ponies tolerate."

Brauner came and took Stella away, sweat very clear on his head at what he saw. Brauner was scared of Scootaloo.

The doors opened and Charlotte came through, "What happened? It closed before I could get in," Charlotte stated.

"We had to fight Stella... because you were locked out, you couldn't use Sanctuary to purify her. Meaning she's still a vampire under Brauner's control."

"Shamefully..."

Area: Master's Keep(Lost Gallery)
Year: 1944

Brauner entered his room with Stella still in his grip as Mental Sap made his clicking sounds, "So she went against orders... inpudent," Mental Sap said to Brauner who just started to heal the many cuts and injuries Stella sustained.

"I don't blame her, she most definitely underestimated the pony and her desire to protect her friends," Brauner replied, "Like I did... I expected this to be easy but... I may just have to let this castle crumble to avoid failing..."

Mental Sap tilted his head, "You mean to say that you do not trust we can obtain victory?" He asked as Brauner nodded. Mental Sap scoffed. "You are a weakling Brauner. Your 'Blood Art Technique' could be useful in the right hooves, or hands in this pathetic world's case."

Brauner looked... unknowingly... at Mental Sap who was busy digging in it's "saddlebags" for a small device that has the quality of others made by Chaos. "What of that pony you stole away? Silent Night?" Brauner asked as Mental Sap found what he was looking for.

"Well, making she's doing well considering she can't think on her own, unlike your own stolen daughter since we both know very well that even if your daughters reincarnated to Eric's daughters, those still aren't your daughters," Mental Sap replied causing Brauner to sigh.

"Couldn't you not remind me? It's bad enough Scootaloo knows about it, I do not need you reminding me..." Brauner said, knowing full well that Mental Sap was more worried about whatever he was tasked with by the deathly filly snooping around Dracula's Castle.

"Relax Brauner, if Apple Bloom and Death got close to defeating Scootaloo before, they can this time. Plus, we have Death's new trick this time since I had to convince him to assist us... at the cost that after your defeat at Scootaloo and her annoying friends, Death can kill you," Mental Sap explained, basically telling Brauner that failure meant his soul got taken. Mental Sap smirked, his green eyes holding no visible emotion but the smug expression was clear.

Brauner sat down, worried. Brauner turned to his canvas and got to work making what he hopes will be his masterpiece.

Area: Tower of Death
Year: 1944
While Mental Sap and Brauner were conversing...

Scootaloo brought Jonathan and Charlotte to the warp room she accessed earlier as they exited. "Death, and presumedly Apple Bloom, are close, I sense his energy at an all time high," Scootaloo told them.

"Is it just me, or does it feel like we broke sequence a little?" Charlotte commented.

"Charlotte, you know we couldn't access the last painting because of some stupid bone trees and we have one area that we can explore thanks to Scoots' smaller size," Jonathan reminded Charlotte. The trio were exploring the Tower of Death in an effort to find either Death or Apple Bloom since both were in the castle, and by finding then defeating them, they'd gain access to the last portrait and, thankfully, whatever abilities lay in there.

As the group went up, they eventually found a save room and a boss door.

Scootaloo was trapped in the grip of some chains, Death on one side of her, Apple Bloom on the other and both looked hungry for blood. Jonathan had fallen and was now bleeding out after failing to avoid a mini-scythe and Charlotte had died after being exploded by Apple Bloom's bone trees turning into the exploding skulls... and now Scootaloo was next to die...

In a matter of moments, Scootaloo apologized to Eric for failing to save both of his daughters before everything went black.

Scootaloo snapped from that death memory, confirming her suspicions... Apple Bloom and Death are working together. Jonathan and Charlotte looked at Scootaloo, worried. "It's as I suspected, Apple Bloom and Death will be fighting us together but they have some new tricks as well, just like everytime... okay, first off, Death has two forms that I can recalled, a white cloaked one that Jonathan can hit and the classic purple cloaked one that Charlotte can hit. Second, Death can summon chains to trap us before he and Apple Bloom slice us with their scythes, the others can attack the chains to free the trapped one but it takes a while. And lastly, Apple Bloom is not to be taken lightly, even if Death is hard, Apple Bloom will give her all and make it a nightmare to survive, since she and Death will both be summoning Mini-Scythes. But those aren't even what concerns me... it's the fact that she hasn't used the giant chomping skulls since 1798 which means she could use them if we're unlucky," Scootaloo explained as Jonathan and Charlotte nodded.

Entering the boss room allowed Scootaloo, Jonathan, and Charlotte to see Death and Apple Bloom. "Mah mah... mighty fine seein' ya chicken! And let's see who yer with... a child with insane magic on a boy who can't wield the holy whip. Shame, figured ya'd bring better friends after how close 1813 was fer ya," The deathly filly said.

"You must be Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle's right hand lady!" Jonathan announced as Apple Bloom nodded, "Well it won't matter if I can or can't use the Vampire Killer, I'll still kick your asses!" he added as Apple Bloom and Death laughed and summoned their respective scythes.

"We'll see about that, whip bearer." Death said as he fixed his pin.

"I sense Equestrian magic in Death... I'm not sure if we should be worried or not," Charlotte whispered to Scootaloo, who nodded in reply.

Jonathan and Charlotte went to deal with Death while Scootaloo dealt with Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom threw her scythe and it split into a shockwave of mini-scythes before she held her hooves out... oh shit.

Scootaloo moved back and forth as the giant skulls appeared to chomp at her, but she did get chomped once and, even with her insane health and defense, it hurt like hell, Apple Bloom clearly hasn't been slumping on training. After the attack with the skulls, Apple Bloom held a hoof out and her scythe reappeared before she teleported and got ready to do a purely horizontal swipe with it that Scootaloo dodged by simply crouching. Scootaloo counterattacked and dealt... okay damage to Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom then smacked two spots on the geound and grew bone trees before she hit a spot and, instead of growing a bone tree, created a shockwave.

"Well, that's a trick, a new one at that."

"Nah, had that fer a while, since 1798 actually."

Scootaloo used the subtle opening to attempt an attack but Apple Bloom saw it coming from a mile away and so blocked then countered so Death could trap Scootaloo in an iron-clad grip of chains catching Scootaloo off guard as both Death and Apple Bloom line up their scythes to attack.

Jonathan and Charlotte noticed that and used their Holy Lightning Dual Crush to break the chains before the attack could finish. Scootaloo slowly and eeriely lifted herself off the ground as she looked at Death and Apple Bloom. "Jonathan. Let's do a Dual Crush, just you and me, ok?" Scootaloo asked in an eerie tone but regardless, Jonathan agreed.

Scootaloo and Jonathan came together and held their hand/hoof out and when they connected...

"BLOOD CROSS!"

"BLOOD CROSS!"

After Scootaloo and Jonathan announced their Dual Crush, a giant dark and ominous cross appeared from them and started attacking Death, who was in his white cloak, and Apple Bloom while healing the users and when it was over, so was the fight.

"How the hell could ya'll beat us?!" Apple Bloom said in annoyence at having lost.

"Yes... there is no way that the three of you possibly possess these such abilities..."

"Heh, I may not have the whip's power but I don't even need it as I, no, we still kicked your asses!"

"That's right! Now resign yourselves to your fate!"

Apple Bloom and Death laughed at each other hearing Charlotte's demand. "So the child thinks she can boss two shinigami around, especially since I was holding back."

"That's your excuse? Pretty lame if you ask me."

Death flew off as Apple Bloom just kept laughing without a sense of stopping. Jonathan attacked Apple Bloom. "Finally, her laughter is just stupid as fucking hell. Seriously, she needs to learn to not leave herself open," Scootaloo commented.

Apple Bloom snarled before teleporting off.

"How much you wanna bet we see them again?"

"I'm pretty sure even Scootaloo could see that's not a fair bet and it's surprising I'm saying it since you usually notice this kind of stuff before I do."

"Yeah, we'll definitely see them again, no need to bet on it."

Entering the room immediately after where they fought Death and Apple Bloom, the group found an elevator that they activate and head all the way down to go back to where they found the bone trees to find they had been removed. The group saves in the save room a little ways downwards in comparison to the portrait's room.

Author's Note

Bosses defeated: Stella(Not really), Death and Apple Bloom

Sooooo.... Scootaloo got to beat Death's croonies.

Okay okay, let's talk Dual Crushes. Why did I include Blood Cross from Castlevania Harmony of Despair(Castlevania HD)? As far as you know Scootaloo doesn't have any unholy affinity. Need I remind you that she was in her Alucard form and Alucard + Jonathan makes Blood Cross because of Alucard's relation to Dracula and also technically his dark magic. Scootaloo uses the same magic as Alucard and thus it turns the usually holy and kind Cross into the dark and ominous Blood Cross. Just my take on it. Also, I have no idea what the hell to do with Forest of Doom considering the group does not need the Frog Morph so what the hell do I do with the Forest of Doom to make it somewhat interesting and required aside from just... doing what the extra modes do and making it being beaten allow access to its harder counterpart the Dark Academy?

Chapter 25: Digging in the Source Code

Area: Dracula's... castle?
Year: 1944

Upon exiting the portal, Scootaloo, Jonathan Morris, and Charlotte Aulin all looked at each other and noticed... "... Didn't we have a shit ton more colors before? And, why the hell are we outside Castlevania when we were just inside?!" Scootaloo was having a bad day right now.

"Because this isn't the castle. It's a recreation of the version of it from 1691 with... most of it intact, I can sense." Charlotte said as she pointed out the portrait to leave, "Chances are, whoever painted this made a decently far in enemy the core monster and hid some super relic past it."

And soon the ground found a new and unwelcome sight... the... knife sub-weapon? Hold up, didn't they get that earlier? "Uh... the Knife? What?" Everyone was confused... then Jonathan used it, taking a heart out of Scootaloo's hearts. "... shit. Uh... guess sub-weapons will have to be saved for bosses so I'll have enough hearts for us to hammer on them," Scootaloo commented.

Entering the illusionary castle allows the group to see a long, and that's no joke, corridor with some elevated platforms and lots of stairs. LOTS of stair. "Are you serious? Not only am I practically unable to use my sub-weapons, but enemies, despite how weak they should be hit like a fucking truck," Jonathan commented as Scootaloo noticed that she could see how healthy all three of them were through 16 different slabs per character, with Jonathan's area missing one slab.

"Ah great, no matter what we're hit by, we'll lose some amount of 16ths of our health, but it seems bosses might follow a similiar rule. Just an observation but it feels like we're in a video game." Scootaloo looked at Jonathan and Charlotte giving her confused looks, at least Scootaloo assumed so since it was hard to tell, so she decided to elaborate. "Basically a video game is something created for entertainment purposes back in Equestria both me and Alucard played one based on my 1798 Castlevania adventure that was fun as hell despite watching even the most advid gamer back then, a colt called Button Mash, get both lost and terrified."

The trio went back to exploring and found and area where going down would be a much preferable option... then the group found the wall chicken. "Even in 1691 we have the non-sensical wall food. Jonathan, eat up, I'm not a meat eater," Scootaloo said as Jonathan ate the wall chicken. Scootaloo used the bat form to take both Jonathan and Charlotte above the wall to reach the end faster.

"You didn't have to carry us, you know."

"I want to be done with this place, the faster the better."

"At least give us a warning next time."

"Okay, next time we'll take the long way in that case."

Jonathan grabbed the Axe sub-weapon and the group entered the next room, finding ones and zeros floating about before forming into Phantom Bat. All it took was several axes. The group realized that a magic crystal fell and they grabbed it and realized the the area looked more in-line with what they are used to.

"I think I get it, beating the bosses of each section causes that section to lose its 'video game-ness.'" Charlotte said as Jonathan threw a Retro Knife(As Scootaloo's calling it) without using any hearts.

"Yo, I'll admit, this is cool as fuck!" Jonathan commented before the group realized... they have to actually go forward. Shit.

The next area gave a warp point right at the start and then they moved forward finding that they were back to the video game side of the portrait and now had to be careful with sub-weapon consumption. The Knights gave no real issue despite dealing more damage, two slabs instead of one, but its realitively simple movements left much to be desired. Then the Medusa heads appeared. They weren't an issue unlike the modern version.

It didn't take long to find Medusa... except it was just her head but using the "fire bomb"(Really just Retro Holy Water) proves to destroy it easily. That won't be a recurring theme, I'm sure.

Grabbing the magic crystal to remove the "retro-ness" of the area allows Scootaloo and friends time to rest.

"You know, this place almost seems to hand subweapons out, the knife early on, axe early on, the 'fire bomb' and the 'boomerang' in this section, and let's not forget that accessory, Double Shot I think, that allows me to have two of any subweapon active at a time," Jonathan commented and, he was right. Kinda hard not to be right in this place what with how damn broken the "fire bomb" is despite how early it was acquired and how no enemies have weaknesses, besides the "fire bomb" because it's just broken like that, or resistances... the group doesn't have any issues defeating the enemies encountered.

Moving to the third area, which proved to be an outer wall sort of area, with what were clearly Fleamen and even Skeletons are here. Good to see them here even if they shoot bones through their... mouth? "This portrait's weird, we seriously need to finish this and move the fuck on." Scootaloo said while the group grabbed something called a Rosary which acted as a screen clear in some adventure games, killing all enemies in the general area(or screen) before promptly disappearing.

The group rushed forward, finding where the next boss was, the Mummy man. Who... could you guess? Dies by "fire bomb." Two in a row that just get destroyed by it. Magic crystal, modernize, you get the gist.

Exiting gives another warp room and one more area where...they pretty nearly fall to death. They arrive in a cave-like area where they have to avoid falling onto literal spike by defeating the bats and Fish Men(Which are different from Mermen somehow) before they can knock any of the trio into the spikes. Jonathan and Charlotte also have to crouch on some moving platforms to make sure they get under the areas of low hanging ceilings. Reaching the end of the area, they arrive in some empty castle ruins, some Eagles dropping Fleamen being the only threat until the end where it shows the Creature and a Fleaman on his back. Shame the trio has the "fire bomb," getting the last magic crystal and fully modernizing this portrait.

"Okay, am I the only one that feels like this was a huge waste of time?"

"Nnnnope." Scootaloo said as the trio used a warp to go the entrance/exit.

Area: Master's Keep
Year: 1944

Arriving here with the stupid key that they received after beating the last portrait, Scootaloo and friends progressed smoothly. Nothing, except the Final Guards, stood even a remote chance against the trio. A save room, a warp room... the entrance to the stairway of the throne room. "Great, a barrier so we can't get up, probably for good reason.." Scootaloo said as they went and saved.

Upon leaving and going into the boss room, the group saw both Silent Night and Stella together. "Finally, I tire of waiting, you three better be ready to die!"

"You have made our hard work for naught, it is time you pay for such intrusions."

"Wait wait, you both are being tricked, please just stop and listen!"

"Such feeble lies, you shall learn your place boy." Silent Night monotously laughs after saying that, Stella joins in not long after.

"Charlotte, start charging Sanctuary, me and Jonathan will keep Stella and Silent Night busy while you do that," Scootaloo said as Charlotte nodded and started charging Sanctuary. Silent Night started used powerful dark magic and surrounded Stella's sword in it as Jonathan pulled their attention away from Charlotte with a taunt. Silent Night then launched several balls of pure dark magic at Jonathan while Stella attempted to slash Scootaloo who combatted with parries but then Stella took advantage of the situation and broke Charlotte's focus on casting the spell.

"Shit!" Charlotte started charging Sanctuary again, having to start over, and Jonathan made certain to pull their attention away from Charlotte from as long as possible.

Silent Night then used Morbus to attack Jonathan and did that hurt him badly. Stella was about to strike Charlotte but Scootaloo parried Stella's attempt at ruining Sanctuary with a, "Not this time!" added for good measure.

Shame Scootaloo failed to see that Jonathan accidently reflected a projectile right to Charlotte, hurting her in the process. "Oops, sorry Charl," Jonathan stated. Scootaloo wasn't exactly pleased with the fact that this fight was taking longer than required.

Stella readied her sword as Silent Night made a dotted line in the air. Stella cut it open and made a gash in the fabric of reality where an Acerbatus shot(Albus's signature attack) tried to attack and Scootaloo held a single hoof up... and stopped it. Sure, it cursed her but curse for Scootaloo is basically worthless since is makes her unable to draw her weapon but she can still use magic. Scootaloo proceeded to swat the Acerbatus shot away with her eyes now showing a blood red anger.

Stella swiped with her blade but Scootaloo gripped it with an iron hoof and took the blade from Stella. "What... the hell... are you?" Stella asked... fear in her eyes.

(Music for Scootaloo's anger)

"You've pissed me off for the last time bitches. You want a battle... I'LL GIVE YOU A BATTLE!" Scootaloo said scaring Jonathan and Charlotte in the process, Charlotte started charging Sanctuary so she can save Stella and Silent Night before Scootaloo's wraith kills them. Scootaloo used a dark element infused Dash Attack before Jonathan attempted to use his whip to hold Scootaloo back but Scootaloo swatted the Rose Stem Whip out of Jonathan's hand. Scootaloo then grabbed the axes... wait a moment... when did Scootaloo have the axe subweapon?!

Scootaloo threw the axes in a completely unpredictable manner, his... no... wait... what even is this? It ain't Scootaloo, that's for certain. Charlotte manages to cast Sanctuary on Scootaloo, Stella, and Silent Night. (End the music here if you want.)

Scootaloo falls on her face, passed out. Silent Night rubs her head, "Ugh... what the hay happened, I feel like I got slammed by ten boulders..." She said, finally with a hint of emotion.

"Ugh... what... what happened... wait... OH NO! I-Is Loretta alright?! I'm so so so sorry to you three, I didn't know what I was even doing!" Stella said in great hurry. Jonathan said sorry as he picked up the Rose Stem Whip... or so it seemed. It didn't take long for Loretta, Wind, and Rainbow Dash to enter the room.

"Hey! What happened to Scoots!?"

"She got angry and... it just seems as though... something changed. She used a commanding voice me and Jonathan hadn't heard before, attempted to kill Stella and Silent Night, and swatted Jonathan's Rose Stem Whip away. My best guess is that anger had been building up and when I was forced to lose focus on casting Sanctuary... she lost it. Creating this strange evil alter ego that I don't even have an idea of what to call..."

"Blood Rush. Call it Blood Rush." Silent Night suggested as she sat on her haunches. "I suggest it because it's somewhat similiar to what happens if a Bat Pony gets a taste of blood, they go crazy and stop being reasonable. I would know, my dad knew several Bat Ponies who did so. As for you, Morris, that whip you bare, I sense Equestrian magic within it, may I see it?" Silent Night asked as Jonathan, confused as he was, handed her the whip. Silent Night lit her horn and suddenly the whip changed appearence. "Figured, Death Mercury. A long forgotten whip in this world and a long since useless relic in mine. It supposedly has equal if not greater strength compared to the Vampire Killer. But it does come at a disavantage... it does not have properties even similar to the Vampire Killer or Excaliber, since it now functions on mostly Equestrian magic. Meaning, you, Jonathan Morris, are the sole bearer of an Equestrian weapon made to defeat creatures of the night. It may not protect from being influenced by vampires, it does not shoot fire balls or even have a fire whip state, but it has more strength than either of those whips and is even capable of channeling the magic of friendship into many attacks."

Jonathan tested the whip out and watched as his friendship with Charlotte allowed Death Mercury to attack like a frozen whip, "Cool, like, actually god this is cold."

Author's Note

Bosses defeated: Retro Phantom Bat, Retro Medusa, Retro Mummy Man, Retro The Creature and Fleaman, Stella and Silent Night, Blood Rush.

Death Mercury: Like Fatal Wind, Death Mercury was a weapon created by magic scholars in the olden days but was lost after Soleil Belmont used it and was promptly defeated by Christopher Belmont, ending up in Equestria, a year or two after Nightmare Moon was sealed away. The whip would go on to be used for several years to defeat many big threats before the whip was placed in a box in the Everfree forest, where Equestria's capital city was at the time, before the whip became a forgotten relic.

Yes, I brought Death Mercury in. Yes, I referenced Castlevania one as the replacement for Forest of Doom, yes Blood Rush is going to return at some point in the future.

I'm an asshole :3

Chapter 26: An abandoned factory in a forgotten city

Area: Forgotten Factory
Year: 1944

As Scootaloo and her friends exitted the portal into the pony zone, a robot was activating on the top floor, her green eyes starting to eluminate the area.

SWEETIE BOT MODEL 4628491HF NOW ACTIVE.

INTRUDERS DETECTED AT FACTORY ENTRANCE.

ISSUING DISPATCH TEAM...

DISPATCH ISSUED.

Sweetie Bot's white titanium coat and titanium steel dual pink and purple mane and tail shine in the slowly activating lights of the factory.

CHECKING AMMO SUPPLIES...

AMMO RESERVES STACKED. BACK-UPS FULL.

Scootaloo looked at Jonathan and Charlotte, both of whom were ponies here since of course they were, and sighed. "Well great, our health is back to slabs meaning my hypothesis was correct, the four paintings we have to go through are harder versions of the ones we've already gone through. This one is 1691 Castlevania but I can tell it's been repurposed as a factory for robots and if my hypothesis is entirely correct, seems like we'll need to go to the top of the castle this time," Scootaloo stated, causing Charlotte and Jonathan to groan at the implications.

Entering the castle, one of the first enemies they find is the replacement for the zombies of the original castle. They have laser beams, good to know. Going through the area they find where Scootaloo had helped them skip ahead to find that there's now no way to skip going downwards. Going down revealed that there are water resistant robots here but they were easy enough to kill as the group moved forward and went up to where they would have been if Scootaloo was able to bring them here. Going forwards obe room revealed that the room was repurposed for dispatching robots through the factory but without a key card to the specific area, you could not skip ahead.

Right before the exit to this area was the area boss, a robotic bat acting as an observation system. The bat screeched to alert whatever undispatched bots that Scootaloo and friends had arrived... silly bat, you were toast the moment Scootaloo and friends entered the room. Jonathan used Death Mercury to whip the bat into submission. Or so it seemed. Scootaloo noticed that the observation bat was getting 16 new slabs of health as it reactived with just straight up guns on its sides.

REQUESTING WEAPONS PERMISSION...

PERMISSION GRANTED BY ADMIN ACCOUNT.

The bat screeched as its guns fired at the group. "Okay, what the hell do we do now? I don't think we can get close enough to use axes if we wanted," Jonathan stated while avoiding gun shots.

Scootaloo sighed as she grabbed the axe, she got it from a candle in this place, and chucked it at the bat, drawing it's attention and then Jonathan attacked, then Scootaloo, then Jonathan, until the bat was dead. No magic crystal spawned. "That's weird, a magic crystal usually spawns after we defeat a boss," Charlotte stated as if everyone didn't already know that.

"Trust me, I'm used to oddities, Cielo Soleado, or Princess Celestia, is one of my best friends along with Alucard, Shanoa, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow motherfucking Crash, or Rainbow Dash if you want to use her given name. Oddities are just normal for me." Scootaloo stated while dropping Celestia's legal name as Cielo Soleado.

The group moved forward, finding a warp room and then moving to the tower which, aside from the enemies being more robotic and artifical versions of the normal enemies, and the end was where things started to differ from the original. The boss was a red robotic pony made from carbon steel and a cutie mark of a M95 rifle painted right on the robot. Interestingly, the cutie mark is only on one side of the robot instead of both sides like ponies actually have. The bot held up a small pistol and shot, seeming to be missing a voicebox. "Hey! What the hell was that for?!" Jonathan yelled out.

"Seemed like it was giving us a warning shot with that pistol," Charlotte commented.

"Whatever it was doing, we need to kill it!" Scootaloo pointed out as she used a vial of Holy Water to deal massive damage to it. Hot Shot basically acted as if it wasn't hit by Holy Water. Great. Just great.

Hot Shot shot its pistol at Charlotte, who dodged just in the nick of time, before opening a compartment on the side without a cutie mark to reveal a built in M95 rifle. It fired the rifle before putting it away. Scootaloo was not pleased.

More Holy Water and the boss was done... until it regained those 16 slabs of health and the PA system turned on in the room.

ACTIVATING WEAPON SYSTEMS FOR HOT SHOT MODEL 537Q547HF

DISABLING VOICEBOX LOCK ON HOT SHOT MODEL 537Q47HF

Hot Shot's mouth opened as words as robotic as it is came out. "Finally... my voice has returned... now to eliminate the intruders for the admin!" Hot Shot said, its rifle coming out as well as a Gatling gun sort of weapon, "Rifle ammo reserves stocked, Minigun reserves overflowed."

"Well... this is not good," Charlotte said as she avoided a stream of bullets from the minigun. Charlotte basically said "Hey could I be used as a distraction while Scootaloo and Jonthan deal damage?" And life agreed.

16 slabs of health later and Hot Shot freaks out before short-curcuiting and allowing the group to move forward.

The outer wall area however... "Okay, who's bright idea was to place fucking spikes out here?!" Jonathan announced after he noticed the sheer number of spikes.

"None of us will ever know..." Scootaloo replied as she and Charlotte mutually agreed it was better to just ignore the odd spikes and move forward.

Reaching the end revealed a battle against... a cat. Like, no joke, just a normal ass cat. Scootaloo and friends proceeded to beat the everloving shit out of the cat. Oh wait... it's a bomb... wait... IT'S A BOMB! Scootaloo, Charlotte, and Jonathan ran away from the cat after coming to that realization. It blew up not long after.

Going forward proved they had to go back down and then complete the underground segment before getting back to the surface to slowly reach the area where the boss was. The boss looked to be using a bunch of scraps to make itself up as every part of it is different. It lifted a hoof and slammed it on the wall, causing debris to fall from the ceiling. Afterwards it fell to the use of Holy Water and opened the way forward.

Moving forward shows the group in a clock tower. Gears turning, drones droping bombs in the entire place, and spikes. This was more believable however since the Tower of Death had spikes. Also the first instance of Skeletons in this damn place, nice.

Beating the enemies eventually brought the group to a boss arena. This time it's a more "general purpose" bot. It came into the room, cleaning up the mess the remained before looking to the trio of heroes.

DISPATCH FAILED.

GENRO IN PASSIVE MODE.

ADMIN ACCOUNT REMOTELY DISABLED PASSIVE MODE.

ACTIVE WEAPON SYSTEMS.

As the heroes listened to the bot switch from its passive mode to the newly coined vicious mode. Shame Genro is not very smart to account for Holy Water. Genro fired three sets of three missiles which the group either deflected or destroyed with ease. Attacking Genro was far from easy. Genro fired a laser from its mouth, forcing the trio to jump away.

"Good to know Genro has fucking laser beams!" Scootaloo said as she remembered Portrait Pony's laser beam.

Scootaloo tossed some Holy Water and hit Genro taking... one slab per 3 seconds. So basically one slab per Holy Water. Thank God Holy Water stunlocks Genro. So, you know. Genro was stunlocked and fell over. Shorted out.

Exiting the clock tower area, the group arrived on a long bridge with a bunch of the observational Giant Bats but it wasn't that bad. Past the bridge was a much more obviously mechanical part of the castle, many many many more gears than the clock tower as if this was once the clock tower of the castle. There way too many of the bomber drones in the area but it didn't take long to reach the end where a staircase was all that remained.

"This is familiar. A lone staircase to the throne room," Scootaloo commented. Jonathan and Charlotte start climbing up, Scootaloo following shortly after. Reaching the top, the group sees... Sweetie Belle?

DISPATCH FAILED.

HOW COULD... DISPATCH FAIL?

ORGANIC LIFE IS OBSOLETE.

RUNNING DATA ANALYSIS...

ERROR. INTERFERENCE DETECTED.

MECHANICAL LIFE SHOULD BE PERFECT.

"Yeah well you clearly didn't account for sheer strength, did ya you mechanized thing."

...NO.

ORGANIC LIFE IS WEAK.

SWEETIE BOT MODEL 4628491HF IS STRONG.

"Before we start this battle, I noticed that both you and Hot Shot have "HF" in your model numbers right at the end... does that... mean something?"

HF IS A MONIKER.

SWEETIE BOT KNOWS NOT WHAT HF MEANS IF HF MEANS ANYTHING.

Sweetie Bot shot many many missles as its first attack. All the missles having an ominous H on them. They destroyed the missles before they could do any damage and rushed at Sweetie Bot, taking off three slabs per attack, three attacks were got off before Sweetie Bot rebounded them off and restarted attacking with the missles and teleporting meanwhile.

LAUNCH "Laugh_Track.MP3".

... FILE MISSING.

Scootaloo used the opportunity to hit Sweetie Bot's moment of slowdown, with Jonathan and Charlotte joining in the beat down and Sweetie Bot fell.

HOW DID SWEETIE BOT... LOSE?

ORGANIC LIFE SHOULD ONLY COMPUTE IMPERFECTION...

HOW DID ORGANIC LIFE DEFEAT SWEETIE BOT?

"Because we build off of each other's imperfections, us "organic life" aren't perfect but we don't have to be with friendship at our side."

"Yeah, Jonathan and Scootaloo may not be the brightest sometimes but I'm here to get them on the right path and they are there to help me with anything my magic cannot."

"And then there's me. I'm a "jack of all trades" sort of thing. Sure, on my own I'm powerful enough to defeat many things but I'm no master at anything. Charlotte and Jonathan pick up my slack in their own unique and childish ways. You have limits too, Sweetie Bot. You can only do what the code allows you to and with what materials and files you have. Nothing's perfect."

... NOTHING'S... PERFECT?

A magic crystal fell, Charlotte grabbed it and received a key card allowing the group to go to any area through the teleporter.

MAYHAPS... YOU MIGHT BRING SWEETIE BOT ALONG?

Scootaloo nodded as the group of now four left the top floor.

Area: Master's Keep
Year: 1944

The group exits the portrait and find both Wind and Rainbow Dash looking at the group. "Why is a robot among you?" Wind asked.

SWEETIE BOT REQUIRED LEAVING.

SWEETIE BOT MODEL 4628491HF IS ACTIVE.

Wind and Rainbow Dash reacted in a confused manner at how Sweetie Bot spoke... before Rainbow Dash looked happy. "Well I ain't complaning, Twi will be eager to research you, Sweetie Bot, but it should be fast," Rainbow Dash said to Sweetie Bot. Jonathan and Charlotte spent some time talking with Wind, Stella, and Loretta, while Scootaloo sat alone, content to let others enjoy the brief break before the move on to the desert portrait.

"You seem to be alone, something on your mind, Scootaloo?" Silent Night said after having a seat next to Scootaloo.

"Well... yes and no. Yes, in that I'm... concerned about that darkness you all told me about... what is the likelihood it returns? What even is it? A wraith? Dark magic? A demon? So many questions about it, no answers. But I'm not letting it slow me down, we have a vampire and changeling admiral to defeat, after all."

"Blood Rush is an interesting topic, all I can say is... be on the lookout for your darkness rising."

"You make it sound easy..." Scootaloo looked as Jonathan and Charlotte were waiting for her to finish her thought. Scootaloo stood up and trotted to the portrait.

Area: Forgotten City
Year: 1944

Scootaloo looked at pony Jonathan and Charlotte in the desert sands. "We should be out of a pony zone when we reach the pyramid... speaking of it... where the hell is it?" Scootaloo commented as she looked around and only noticed the Sphinx as she and the others trotted forward. They found mummies and Devil wheels and even a Dodo bird which they killed for a Heart Brooch.

Then they reached an area with a massive pile of sand. Scootaloo knew what to do, she trotted to the top and the pile went downwards before the massive creature called Poison Worm appeared. Against a three pony assalt though... it stood no chance.

Going down the hole, Jonathan and Charlotte looked at each other and smiled, they were humans again.

Going deeper and they entered what once was the boss room for Astarte, now a lady was just sitting in a chair. The lady had a red dress, black hair, and a golden headband. Attacking her causes her to drop the facade as she reveals a black one piece suit, cat-like ears, and big ol' boots. She really isn't hot stuff.

Scootaloo went towards the save and warp rooms while Charlotte and Jonathan went their own way. Scootaloo found the area was still about the same shape, even down to the door that was sealed shut. Scootaloo teleported behind the door and opened it before continuing to explore the area. Finding nothing of note so she went down the shoot and found a boss door where a Persephone once was and a save room right above it.

Scootaloo wasted time while waiting for Jonathan and Charlotte. And by that, she was planning for whenever Sweetie Belle would attack Equestria on her own. Scootaloo also had plans to make for 1999, she was in charge of making sure Equestria was well equipped and prepared enough to fight and defeat Dracula and his legions of evil. All in all, Scootaloo will be very busy during these moments of lonesomeness and after the adventure.

Jonathan and Charlotte got here a while ago and Scootaloo failed to notice them while she was in her thoughts. "Hello, Earth to Scootaloo, you there?" Jonathan asked while waving a hand in front of Scootaloo's face, getting the mare out of her thoughts.

"Yeah yeah, I'm here, Morris. Man, we're getting so close to the end of this journey that I'm actually planning for my future battles." Scootaloo stood up, and all three opened the boss door.

Upon entering the boss room, a foe that seemed oh so familiar appeared. The Mummy Man. And the Mummy Man had Equestrian magic, so this should be an interesting fight.

The Mummy Man started by attempting to trap the trio with blocks but they just jumped to get over the blocks then they attacked the Mummy Man, Death Mercury pulled on Jonathan's friendship with Charlotte to coat itself in fire for a moment. Scootaloo used Hellfire to deal damage to the Mummy Man who started glowing before turning into a mummified alicorn.

"Of course... a mummified royal corpse turns into a mummified alicorn. This is predictable," Scootaloo said as she dodged being buried in sand by the magic of the Mummy Man while Charlotte charged and activated Raging Fire which the Mummy Man did resist slightly better now that it was an alicorn but... it was still weak as hell to fire. It fell and Scootaloo left with her friends to go save.

Author's Note

Bosses Defeated: Observation Bat, Hot Shot, Exploding Kitten, Scrap Collector, Genro, Sweetie Bot, Mummy Man.

Time to finally do this.

Jonathan and Charlotte's pony forms are inspired by Portraits and Chaos. Yes, the Portrait of Ruin characters' pony forms are inspired by a post-Portrait of Ruin story.

For those wondering why Celestia is called Cielo Soleado, it's because that's her "legal" name in a story about a certain human-turned-pony named Source Code and I liked the name so I decided "fuck it" and used it.

So... I know Miniguns weren't invented till the 1960's yet Hot Shot has one. Reason? Because I fuckin' said so! Nah, Abandoned Factory is in the future(metaphorically, not literally) so it'd obviously have some weapons and items not even invented yet.

Hey! You, yeah you! Quick question... would you be interested in a short story based on Harmony of Despair, that one multiplayer Castlevania game that everyone pretty much forgot about? You know, the only Castlevania game with fucking Getsu Fuma as a playable character and the only game where Soma Cruz can use Dark Inferno by claiming dominance of Dracula's soul. Yeah, that game. Oh, don't worry, if I do it, it'll be completely non-canon to this so if you read it, it's completely your choice, no lore will be added through that story that wasn't already added through Grimoire of Souls being canon to this story(in the future). Fair warning, just like what happened with Order of Ecclesia, I haven't played Harmony of Despair so, while that game already took many creative liberties, I will have to take creative liberties to not only work Scoots into it, but also add content in an accurate way so Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom don't just *plop* in from left field. Also, starting that story can happen at really anytime(minus during this arc and during the next arc since Castlemania will have segments of it) and it may give ya'll a feel of how I'll write Soma Cruz in this story.

Chapter 27: An overgrown mansion built on 13th street

Area: Master's Keep
Year: 1944

Scootaloo was sitting next to Sweetie Bot, watching her friends all commune, content.

YOU HAVE BEEN SITTING HERE FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, HAVE YOU ENTERED STANDBY MODE?

Scootaloo heard Sweetie Bot ask the question and shook her head. "Nah, I just don't have anything to add to the conversation at this point, aside from bringing up a negative moment for all of us," Scootaloo commented, not trilled with mentioning Blood Rush again... or well... the idea of it at least.

NEGATIVE... MOMENT? SWEETIE BOT WISHES TO INQUIRE ABOUT THAT.

Scootaloo sighed. "I... don't want to talk about it... it's-"

ABOUT THE DARKNESS SWEETIE BOT SENSES IN YOU?

Scootaloo shook her head multiple times at that, "Uh... yeah... how did you know?"

SWEETIE BOT WAS PROGRAMMED TO BE THE BEST SWEETIE BOT COULD BE.

Scootaloo had to take a moment to process that. She still had two portraits left to get through... the one she called 13th street, and the one she calls Overgrown Mansion since they also lack names on their frames. Scootaloo watched as Charlotte and Jonathan approached a portrait.

Area: 13th Street
Year: 1944

Entering the underground area of the City of Haze proved how little this adventure could matter. Until a motherfucking train nearly ran the over, thank god Scootaloo, Jonathan, and Charlotte were strong enough to stop it from moving. "Okay, who's bright idea was it to have a train running at this specific time?!" Jonathan asked aloud to nobody in specific. Everyone present agreed with his reaction.

Going forward, the group found Lightkeepers, also called Biphrons, Lossoths, Lanturn Bearers, you get the gist. Oh, and obviously the group were in a pony zone. The area wasn't very long, mostly just moving up and down various buildings while moving forward. Some combat here and there(namely against demons called Nyxs who wield a massive Syringe filled with Poison, as Scootaloo found out first hand). They group found a cross and Jonathan took the time to pray at it.

"So... Scootaloo, how are you doing right now? I notice you've been lost in thought a lot," Charlotte said as Scootaloo looked towards her.

"I don't know if you know but... during 1999... a battle to seal Dracula away is predicted to happened. Princess Twilight has entrusted me with preparing the Equestrian army for it just as back-up to the Belmont who will assist all of us then. I'm just... planning ahead," Scootaloo explained, earning a respectful nod from Charlotte. "You know, Charlotte, and I mean this in the best way, you're pretty damn good for a kid. Well, maybe I shouldn't say kid... you're pretty damn good for a lady. Best damn magician I've met aside from Twilight."

Charlotte looked like she wanted to be mad but she couldn't be mad, not this time. Scootaloo is pretty tasked, preparing for a battle that's not for 55 years... that's dedication to saving everyone. Dedication that Charlotte can respect.

Scootaloo watched as Jonathan came back, a Cross in his arsenal. The group knew it was time to move forward. Moving on, the group eventually found the save room and a warp room to return to the entrance when they were finished with the boss, which was also really damn close.

Entering the boss room allows Scootaloo and Charlotte, Jonathan was locked out for some reason, to see the Werewolf of 13th Street. Unlike the Werewolves Alucard described, this one had black fur and many areas where fur just... didn't exist. "I'll activate my fire spells, you just focus on dealing damage, got it Scootaloo?" Charlotte said as Scootaloo nodded and rushed towards the Werewolf. Charlotte started charging Raging Fire.

The Werewolf was hit by Raging Fire and picked up a lightpole before throwing it towards Charlotte... but Scootaloo jumped in the way of the attack to defend Charlotte. "Ugh, damn beast. Heh... I'll... I'll be down for the count for a bit... need to get a healing item, you focus on finishing this damn werewolf off, got it, Charlotte Aulin?" Scootaloo said as Charlotte looked at the injury, Charlotte offered to heal Scootaloo but Scootaloo said it would be a waste of precious battle time! Charlotte had to finish this fight... alone.

Charlotte took a deep breath. Just her and the werewolf. Charlotte started charging Raging Fire again and got it off. She saw attack after attack be launched by the werewolf... but she make careful to dodge every one of them. Charlotte wasn't a child anymore. She could do this. She is the final weapon against Dracula. She is Charlotte Aulin, the greatest magician this world will have ever seen! Charlotte's determination allowed her to use the rare and fabled Salamander spell, summoning a giant fire lizard to attack her enemies.

The werewolf died soon after.

Area: Master's Keep
Year: 1944

Scootaloo was laying down... for once, she couldn't heal the injury at this point. She needed to wait for an ingredient to be found in the one portrait left to explore. The Overgrown Mansion. Scootaloo assured Jonathan and Charlotte that she's be fine not helping with the last portrait, she'd been working overtime doing over things anyways. Now Jonathan and Charlotte were sitting in the dining area they fought Stella and Silent Night in.

"Charlotte... do you think we have the strength to get in, find whatever it is we need... then leave? What if we find something that we can't defeat on our own? What if Scootaloo's wings are needed in that area? We're... we're on our damn own in a place we might not be able to explore..." Jonathan said, genuinely worried about everything.

"I... I don't know... I don't, Jonathan... this isn't something you could learn through books... unlike the laws of metaphysical realities or the theory of cure amplication or even fucking wormholes! Sorry that I swore... I'm just... not doing good... Scootaloo's like this because she defended me from being hit with a lightpole... she... defended me..." Charlotte said, not feeling the greatest.

"Hey, it's no problem, I'd definitely be the same way, angry at myself because a friend got hurt defending me. The only thing we can do now, is make it up to her, Scootaloo needs our help so... even if we can't reach the end, we should at least find the medical ingredient for her."

"I... sigh... I guess you're right, let's go."

Area: Overgrown Mansion
Year: 1944

Jonathan and Charlotte stepped onto the floor of the mansion, feeling lots of plant growth. The lack of Scootaloo here really weights heavily on the two.

"... is it bad that I miss Scootaloo being a part of the squad already?" Jonathan asked, feeling the team was a little empty without Scootaloo.

"You aren't the only one..." Charlotte replied, feeling the same way. "Ahem, regardless... we need to help Scootaloo, and we take care of two birds with the same stone. Hopefully."

Jonathan and Charlotte started progressing, finding Une, Corpseweeds, Mandragora, and even Alura Une. All the plant monsters. Treants, Moldy Corpses, Maneating Plants(Also called Stone Rose), and Skeleton Farmers. The mansion was clearly well grown. Charlotte and Jonathan even found a new spell... an Equestrian spell. Charlotte was a little wary but cast it anyways. When she opened her eyes, Jonathan was in his pegasus form again!

"Charlotte... did you learn a transformation spell?" Jonathan asked as he realized just how short he felt compared to Charlotte. He found a mirror nearby and looked through it. He went wide eyed. "CHARLOTTE YOU TURNED ME INTO A PEGASUS!?" Jonathan asked in gripping realization, not a bad one... but a good one. Jonathan started flying as he realized he'd need to open the door in front of them and the way to open it was only accessable to winged creatures like pegasi!

The door opened with Jonathan on then other side, a lever pulled to open it. "Man, despite everything, I'm starting to think pegasi aren't that bad despite everything. Maybe the wing flaring is annoying, and maybe the cutesy face is weird, not even counting how I now realize how soft the fur is, but being a pegasus isn't half bad," Jonathan said, a slight smile on his face.

Charlotte undid the transformation, which Jonathan was fine with instead of glad like he would have been earlier in the adventure, and they moved forward. They eventually found another door, this one had a magic lock that Charlotte could open as a unicorn using raw Equestrian magic. "Firing raw blasts of magic, witches and the church have been trying to learn how to do that for years and Equestrian unicorns can do it innately? I need to study this and learn how to apply it to the laws of magic!" Charlotte said, a happy grin on her face.

Then came a section where Charlotte and Jonathan had to work together as ponies. Jonathan carrying Charlotte who then used her Unicorn magic to open the pathways and activate switches. The two smiled happily, glad to be working together as ponies... then they found the herb... as the door closed behind... them... "Shit," they said at the same time. They watched as a flower bloomed on the roof.

"The hell is that!?" Jonathan said, his eyes widening at the sight of it.

"Some form of hyperanimated flower, wait... I just noticed... we're standing on what was the roof before... that makes that..."

"The... floor..."

Hours ago...

Scootaloo was looking at some small vines in the Mansion of Fools, Jonathan and Charlotte looking at her... in confusion. "Hey, dude, you cool?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah, hey, if we ever end up seperated, not sure why we would, and you end up in an area while on the ceiling... I'll say this... don't let a flower grow too much. If it starts growing out of control... burn it to the ground."

Present moment...

Jonthan's eyes widened. "Charl... roast that flower to ashes! Please?" Jonathan asked and Charlotte, albeit confused, complied by using Raging Fire on a vine hanging limply from the ceiling floor. The flower didn't like that.

"Oh my god, Jonathan, you are a genius for once!" Charlotte said as Jonathan nodded. When Supergrowth threw down plants, Jonathan dealt with those using Holy Water or the "fire bomb" from the 1691 Castlevania portrait. And soon... Supergrowth was burnt to a crisp.

Area: Scootaloo's Dreamland
Year: 1944

Scootaloo walked in the area, the black sky occusionally opening an eye. The land he stood on seemed dead. Devoid of emotion. Dark. Scootaloo was without her equipment in this dreamland but she knew... that the matter most dark surrounds her. NULL WILL DEFEAT THE INCARNATION EVEN IF IT TAKES A MILLION YEARS. Scootaloo shut out the voice in her head. Even if this "Incarnation" exists, Scootaloo wasn't going to fight it. Never in a million years. At the end of her trot she found a small little puff ball.

A pink little puff ball. Wearing a green little hat. And riding a brown pony.

Area: Master's Keep
Year: 1944

Scootaloo slowly opened her eyes to find Charlotte and Jonathan smiling at her, healed. One goal left to complete... Brauner... YOU'RE DONE FOR!

Author's Note

Bosses defeated: Werewolf, Supergrowth

References: A Sweetie Dreamland(Sword Kirby riding Sweetie Belle

So... yeah. Blood Rush/NULL is returning pretty soon. Also... Brauner's most definitely fucking dead.

Soooo... this story has a puesdo-sequel already? Ye. I won't be working on that until I finish the next Castlemania arc but I already have a prologue/teaser for it where we get introduced to our squad of misfit characters including Alucard, Soma, Charlotte, Jonathan, Shanoa, and Scootaloo, a full six characters and only one who uses sub-weapons. Wanna check it out? Well listen to our Harmony of Despair.

Intermission 5: Preperations (Now with more pillars!)

Area: Ponhedge
Year: 1993

Scootaloo, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash were standing at Ponhedge, ready. Twilight and Scootaloo both knew that the pillars would be helpful in the battle that was coming in 6 years. Six... a funny number, isn't it? Six pillars, six elements, six years. It all runs back. Scootaloo had helped acquire all the required items to bring the pillars back, the trio knew what they were doing.

Twilight did the spell and now, all of the pillars are back, with Starswirl being the first to comment, "What... what happened?" he asked before realizing, "What have you done?!"

"Chill Starswirl, it may not look it but... we have a plan," Scootaloo said as the Pony of Shadows appeared. Scootaloo immediately did a light embued dash attack to just murder them. "See? I've become a bit of a monster so... heh, don't expect anything to be an issue while I'm here. But now we must ask you six a favor... Equestria has six years to prepare for the biggest war it will take part in and we figure you six could help us considering your power as stories have dictated. And to make things better, you six know not the horrors me and Princess Twilight here have faced, but we have no reason to not educate you six on the monsters you will have to fight," Scootaloo explained, confusing all six of the pillars.

Area: Scootaloo's dream
Year: 1994

Scootaloo looked at everything she had done here, no smile on her face, no glee to be had. Why? Was her memories of the friendship she once had with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom tainting the glee she should be feeling? The eye in the darkness stared at Scootaloo again, its blood red pupil standing out. "You still feel remorse for doing what you wamted to do," It said, its voice deep and empty of emotion.

"What do you know about remorse? I think you haven't felt remorse in your life and are just trying to twist me, well you ain't doing it. I let you out once, I won't do it again," Scootaloo commented, the truth clear as day. This... thing... in her dreams wants nothing but pain and conflict. The darkness around gave way to a multicolored area, revealing the entity called Blood Rush to be a black ball with a giant eye in the center and a bunch of smaller orange balls surrounding it.

"You know nothing of me? Who's to say that I, a matter so dark, have never felt remorse?"

"I see it in your damn eye! You hold no remorse, no love... only hate. You want nothing but the world to share your terrible fate!"

"So you do know something of me just from looking at my eye? Interesting..."

"Now leave me alone! I will not hunt down your "incarnate" enemy or whatever it is!"

"You say that now but... even Dark Matters like me know you'll twist that eventually."

Scootaloo dared not give reply there. She knew as well, if this "incarnate" was evil, she would but so far as she heard, the "incarnate" was a much better hero than herself. She killed people regularly, he didn't.

Area: Memory Museum Gallery
Year: 1995

Scootaloo watched as Starswirl got well acquinted with Darklight's magic attacks. In that he got hit by them more times that he really should. "Hey! Bearded! Could you maybe try dodging when you see a magic attack coming?" Scootaloo said, angering Starswirl who failed to see the lightning spell attack him. "Come on grampa! You got it!" Scootaloo mocked.

The other pillars had gotten used to fighting Darklight rather easily. Starswirl was trying to be different in his approach due to his sheer better magical prowess. Starswirl looked up at Scootaloo, "Oh yeah? Why don't you beat this thing?" he said but Scootaloo just shook her head.

"Because I have, I've beaten it over a hundred times. I know every in and out of that fight and so I do not need training on it. You do. So just stop complaning and fight it like the others did!" Scootaloo said in a stern tone even as Starswirl shot a single powerful blast that was completely destroyed by the shield Darklight had up, the power of the spell doesn't contribute to draining the shield and yet Starswirl was desperate to use a spell of sheer power to destroy it in one hit, just attacking it is far too easy and seems lazy to him! There has to be a solution that involves a single powerful spell.

Oh... he lost. "Starswirl. You have a lot to learn. You cannot just use full power spells to deplete the shield, those take too long and deal the same damage as a weak one. It isn't based on damage done, but the speed of attacks. Again," Scootaloo said as the battle against Darklight restarted and Starswirl, regretably, attacked as fast as he could as the shield spell fell and Darklight's Mana Prism went to casting more magic.

Starswirl regretted not being able to defeat the shield in a single shot and he, as well as the rest of the pillars, had 4 years left to prepare for 1999. That wasn't going to be fun.

Area: Skyros Outskirts
Year: 1996

Opaline Arcana was following this pony, one calling themself Death oddly, in great interest. This earth pony promised her a way to expand her power in ways never before seen. "Opaline Arcana, tell me. Have you heard of Castlemania?" Death asked.

"The real question is who hadn't. Everypony knows that place. Been wanting to find the place myself to expand my power and make it clear that alicorns are supposed to be at the top of the heirarchy!" Opaline Arcana answered in an... arrogent tone. Death just smirked at that, he knew she'd like what he was doing then.

Opaline and Death kept getting farther and farther from Skyros towards the end of Skyros Outskirts and that's when she realized.

The yellow coated, black cloak wearing, scythe wielding filly stood right there. Opaline felt the sheer power behind the filly's fragile appearence and part of her said to run the fuck away... but she didn't. Why? This filly could kill her in a heartbeat, she's rather be back in Skyros than look at it. "Pleasure ta finally meet ya... Opaline Arcana. Ah'm sure yer confused, ah'll explain," Apple Bloom said as she looked at Opaline and she could swear she saw skulls in those eyes but she gulped her fear down.

"I... I am Opaline Arcana and I request you explain what you need of me to waste my time having this... lesser pony drag me out here!" Opaline tried to demand but it came out more as a statement versus a demand. This filly wasn't right.

Apple Bloom twirled a little syringe in her hoof. "Came ta make ya an offer. Ah can give ya power, but... we must make a deal. Yer parts are simple. Let meh hybridize ya and then sign yer soul ta Chaos which just means yer body, as it was when ya signed, gets reformed every time the castle falls. Mah part from there is help teach ya how ta use yer hybridized abilities in conjection with what ya already knew... ya interested?" Apple Bloom asked that last bit with a smirk, aware Opaline wasn't about to reject more power, and eternal revives were too good to reject.

Opaline sat there for a moment, thinking over her options. She could go along with this but she might lose her, admittedly, already limited freedom... or she could go along with it and not lose her freedom and maybe even gain more... OOOOR she could decline and be forced to get power a different way knowing she passed up on a silver platter of power. Opaline took a breath as she said, "I accept."

Author's Note

Ooooooh shit. The pillars are back and Opaline's been recruted to Sweetie Belle's castle. Shit is going to go far in this next arc :3

Also, if you wanna use my versions of the characters...
Sweetie Belle dialogue color code: 9426af
Apple Bloom dialogue color code: ad3232
Scootaloo dialogue color code: cf8b54
Opaline Arcana: a92d9d
Jonathan Morris: FF3232
Charlotte Aulin:26a4ff
Death(post-OoE): 3c26af
Twilight Sparkle: a66ebe
Rainbow Dash: 6aaadd
Starswirl: 888888

After the first three, you should know that those are the color codes I use for the character's dialogue string. And yes, all of the mane six just use their named color from the color menu of the formating. Included Twilight and Rainbow Dash since they were both alive. For recurring ORIGINAL characters, I might include them eventually. I'm not picky if you forget to use the color-coated dialogue, it's your life and story. Only real reason I included that was because I realized Opaline and Sweetie Belle have similiar color codes.

Chapter 29: The first battle in 1999 begins

Area: Ponyville
Year: 1999

Scootaloo, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, a Belmont by the name of Julius, Alucard, a Belnades by the name of Yoko, all six pillars, Discord, Celestia, and Luna all stared at the sight of Castlemania. Discord, Celestia, and Luna stepped forward. They started to give a speech when, suddenly, a massive laser attacked all three. It was then that the group looked up and saw a pony who had various weapons piercing through her, with her wings looking skeletal and decayed. "Greetings you pitiful ponies! You want a war... we'll give you a war." Opaline Arcana, hybridized with a Dragon Zombie, said to the group.

"Opaline. Opaline Arcana. Why are you here and not in Skyros?" Twilight Sparkle, now the only princess since Cadence wanted to keep the Crystal Empire out of Equestrian issues by disconnecting communications with Equestria, asked.

"Skyros?" Alucard asked with a confused expression.

"City of Alicorns, Opaline should have been there for near eternity but she's here and clearly Apple Bloom is part of the reason why," Scootaloo explained as she twirled Fatal Wind, ready for combat. Opaline Arcana flew into Castlemania leaving the group as they were, with monsters now starting to leaving the castle. Scootaloo rushed forward and entered the castle for the final time in the 20th century.

Area: Silent Tomb
Year: 1999

Scootaloo was rushing this place she wanted to be here no longer than required. In this Silent Tomb, she had encountered Darklight and the Shadowfreight again but both have stopped posing challenges and now she was ready to go and fight Opaline Arcana.

As Scootaloo entered the boss room, she ducked below a straight firing beam before looking at Opaline who had a vile smirk on her face. Scootaloo started with a light embued dash attack that Opaline teleported to avoid. Opaline started charging a fire attack with her horn and before long shot multiple tens of fireballs that hit many different areas which gave Scootaloo some difficulty to dodge. This continued for a few goes then Scootaloo tried to attack but Opaline teleported again, this time Scootaloo did a teleport attack to counteract the teleport.

Opaline winced but didn't seem to suffer more than a scratch would have hurt. She got ready to fire a laser beam and so Scootaloo jumped out of the way and did a light infused dash attack to deal some damage that Opaline tanked. Scootaloo jumped backwards when Opaline tried to chomp her, leaving sparks in its wake.

Scootaloo launched a counterattack in the form of using Vol Luminato while in her Shanoa form which was then followed by her doing a glyph union of Optimum Confodere and Vol Luminato which Opaline tanked but she was definitely showing signs of wear and tear now. Scootaloo returned to her Alucard attire and did two dash attack of no element.

Opaline fired a laser beam at Scootaloo that Scootaloo crouched under, this time though, Opaline started moving the laser beam around while firing it, causing Scootaloo to have to do more dodging than usual. Scootaloo jumped over a fire ball sent her way after Opaline's laser finished. Scootaloo wasn't going to stall as she did one final dash attack, finishing the fight.

Area: Soul Emporium
Year: 1999

Scootaloo was trying to navigate the Soul Emporium with some... mild success. The Soul Emporium was a maze in the most textbook definition of it. Scootaloo kept making wrong turn after wrong turn and she was getting sick of it. After yet another dead end, she decided fuck playing fair, she'll fly over the maze and just fly to the exit.

... oh. The ceiling makes the illusion that Scootaloo can fly over the walls. Great. So the one plan Scootaloo had was trashed now as she returned to slowly trying to find the exit.

She eventually found a dead end with a sign on it, "What happens when a wind gust blows towards mist? The mist dissappiates... Oh no! Mistmane!"

Area: Ponyville
Year: 1999

Everyone has holding their own against the monsters coming from the castle, pony soldiers using their magic kept themselves from falling but they did have some casualties. Unforunately, the group, minus Julius, failed to notice a pegasus soldier eyeing Mistmane tactfully. Then, before anyone can react, the pegasus soldier stabs right into Mistmane as Julius fights back using a cross. "You bitch! You're working for the empty, aren't you?!" Julius asked as everyone doubled on their attack measures.

The pegasus' yellow coat and blue mane makes it clear who he is... Flash Sentry, a pony supposed to be dead by now, "You know Belmont, I should have expected this cleverness. I didn't know what to expect when Apple Bloom brought me back but now I do see. Even the princess has taken a liking to you all but now? I'm here to change that!" Flash Sentry said as he twirled a spear around but Starswirl stopped Flash from doing any real damage beyond the death of Mistmane. As Flash tried to rangle his spear from Starswirl's magic, the decayed corpse he really is shown. When Flash gets his spear back, he rushes towards Castlemania but, forunately, he could go far as Twilight and Alucard used magic at the same time to kill Flash off but... he was now also linked to Chaos. Damn it.

Sweetie Belle wasn't through with killing off the pillars yet as she only took the time to remind the group that rocks erode and they have a pony named Rockhoof so... Sweetie Belle drank a little of her wine as she watched from a far distance. She snapped and now a flock of undead pegasi appear and slice Rockhoof to shreds. Sweetie Belle teleports back to her throne room while the others are forced to deal without Rockhoof. "It seems Sweetie Belle is killing off the pillars one by one," Alucard mentioned as he killed a golem and several winged guards by using Soul Steal.

Shit was getting real.

Author's Note

Boss defeat: Opaline Arcana

So... Shanoa form's back. Time to talk about Shanoa and the demons. Shanoa's in Romania, awaiting the castle's return and the demons are waiting with her. Also, yes. These chapters are much shorter than usual castle chapters because the battle of 1999 is hardly spoken about in the Sorrow games, the first time it appeared it was mentioned multiple times but no one went into detail but the second game had it be purely a library entry that went into just as much detail.

Also... Flash Sentry's back. That wouldn't come back to bit the heroes in the ass during a certain special year in to 2000s, right?

Chapter 9: When the moon shines in the endless darkness.

Area: Castle Keep
Year: 1798
After Scootaloo defeated Fluttershy.

Sweetie Belle was watching as Scootaloo beat Fluttershy easily, "Apple Bloom, why did you not enhance Fluttershy like I said to?" Sweetie Belle said as she turned to Apple Bloom who sheepishly looked downwards. "Ah'm sorry Sweetie, ah thought that the Giant Bat's DNA would give her a bigger boost than it did... ah promise that mah sister will stop the chicken if she even gets past the demon. Ah really do not expect 'er to," Apple Bloom said as she looked at the screen herself...

Scootaloo had to make a choice, higher path, or straight ahead path... which will she choose?

Area: Ominous Garden
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Twilight stared at the options they had, one path was obviously a dead end and the other was important but which was which was very much unclear. For all Scootaloo knew the required bosses and relics for this point are straight ahead instead of up but what if the required relics for straight ahead path are on the higher one? So many unknowns with this place.

Twilight felt her magic almost pull her, "We... I feel like we need to go straight ahead, I don't know anything that lays that way but I know you can handle it while... I just handle the doors you are unable to open," Twilight says as she starts going towards the straight ahead path, Scootaloo carefully following along.

Area: Library of Souls
Year: 1798

To say Twilight felt at home in this cursed library would be the understatement of century. Almost instantly after Scootaloo and Twilight entered the room, Twilight immediately started rushing to the bookshelves. Scootaloo could swear Twilight tried to sit on a shelf and Twilight would deny it.

Shame Scootaloo had a camera on her.

Twilight now fears getting on Scootaloo's bad side, and for good reason. A door opened later and they reached another crossroad. Left or right?

"Well... you got an idea of where to go Twilight?" Scootaloo asked as Twilight thought, accidently shooting a fire ball at a wall... her magic is still on the frizz... great.

But it could be useful later if I learn to control it since I seem to have more magic than before this hybridization, Twilight thought to herself, not coughing out the thought this time. Twilight's thoughts weren't lost, in fact... they were too centered. Every part of her screamed going left... except one. A small part of Twilight wanted to go right so... that's where they'll go, "I feel like we should probably go right first and go to the left if the right proves to be a dead end," Twilight said as she and Scootaloo went to the right.

The path didn't really hold much in terms of threats just some Ectoplasms (Which gave Twilight a bit of a fright) and one or two Sword Armors... oh, and plenty of Spellbooks for one lifetime. Especially for Twilight who outright had conversations with them... how? Scootaloo will never know.

Scootaloo and Twilight kept going down the path, Twilight convincing the Spellbooks to not hurt them, that Scootaloo was a friend of them... somehow... it even allowed Scootaloo to go to an upper area while Twilight stayed behind, something about her "learning from the ones like her," or something.

As Scootaloo went onto the upper path (thanks to Spellbooks creating a staircase and opening the door at the top) and walked through a hallway with "no exits"... yeah, tell that to Scootaloo now that she sees like 10 breakable walls.

Behind wall number 1 was... a Wall Salad. No complaints but still a waste of time. Behind wall 2 was a whole room with many Spellbooks who didn't attack Scootaloo, one even followed Scootaloo around the room while searching the room. Wall 3 seemed to have an expansion of the room behind wall 2, having a familiar card for Spellbook. Wall 4 was filled with Poltergeists which were no issue and one even dropped an item though Scootaloo didn't know what it was. Wall 5 had a door with an apple symbol on it, Applejack is the next fight... good to know.

Wall 6 through 9 had enemies, particularly Iron Golems... yep, not fighting those to save time. The only things behind them was healing items anyways. Wall 10 had a boss door. Twilight caught up by this point, "I'm guessing you're ready for whatever boss is behind that door?" she asked as Scootaloo nodded and went to enter the room.

Scootaloo stepped into the room, not expecting the pony in the room currently there, "So... you've arrived," the cloaked pony said before presenting a key with an apple-shaped gem at the end, "Looking for this?" the pony said before turning around, showing a face that looks similar to Diamond Tiara's except... its eyes are shrouded in a veil of shadow. Her coat and mane look shaded and washed out as they snapped and the key vanished. "Are you the demon Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle recruited?" Scootaloo asked, getting met with just laughter as a response... the laugh, it's dark and creepy... belonging to a demon.

Scootaloo dash attacked only to be hit by a brick wall which vanished afterwards. Clearly this demon was not going to sit still and die.

The demon laughed again, and... that gave Scootaloo an idea. She threw down some holy water to intentionally miss, the demon laughed again giving Scootaloo an opening to attack! "ARGH! Why you!!" The demon said, angered by Scootaloo using her brain unlike 90% of its previous victims, and it snapped summoning a fake version of Queen Chrysalis... which is destroyed in one hit... far less than the painting version of Chrysalis needed to destroy. "… One hit? How fragile are your summoned minions? How are you even something Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle considered teaming up with?" Scootaloo asked causing the demon to hide its face under the hood as much as possible.

Seems this demon really doesn't like its work being insulted.

"Ugh... why couldn't you have been a fucking dumbass?" Fabricator, the demon's name as the Fairy Tome said, asked before being attacked again. This just was not Fabricator's day. "You know Fabricator? I pity you," Scootaloo said as Fabricator snapped, summoning a literal anvil above Scootaloo... it did next to nothing. "I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY!" Fabricator yelled in pure rage at Scootaloo's suggestion.

Scootaloo looked at Fabricator, a sad smile on her face while Fabricator was on the verge of breaking down, "You can cry, I won't judge you for it," Scootaloo said seemingly being the breaking point, Fabricator dropped the key and started crying and boy does it sound like they really needed it.

Scootaloo stuck around for a bit but Fabricator really just wanted to be left alone so Scootaloo grabbed the key and left... poor guy.

With the key in hoof, ready to find and fight whatever Applejack has become. She and Twilight started walking again, the Spellbooks guiding them to the room where the Apple Key would be used.

And here it was, next to a save room so Scootaloo and Twilight saved before entering...

Area: Applejack's room
Year:1798

Scootaloo and Twilight enter the room to find Apple Bloom floating in it again. "Well well, ah guess Fabricator was a dud hope in defeatin' ya, whateva... honestly ya are becomin' a real pain and yet ah honestly can't believe yer still alive ya stupid fuckin' chicken!" Apple Bloom said as she snapped... honestly? As the Honesty jokes are not funny. Apple Bloom vanished as a Werepony that was clearly a pained Applejack appeared and roared!

Oh man... Scootaloo wasn't going to have fun here.

AppleWolf (As Scootaloo called it) charged towards Scootaloo, ready to attack, only for Scootaloo to dash to the side. Scootaloo got hit by a energy blast that she forgot Alucard mentioned Werewolves could do. Scootaloo used Hellfire and got countered by a buck to the face... ow... Applejack never skipped out on training it seems...

Scootaloo looked at AppleWolf and used Petra Spirit to attack AppleWolf and just keep her away for a moment. Scootaloo then uses the spell she created during Portrait Pony to attack AppleWolf and yet AppleWolf is still fighting at basically random... AppleWolf rushed towards Scootaloo with large energy fangs about to chomp, one well timed jump avoided it only for Scootaloo to be hit by an uppercut.

God damn AppleWolf is good. Real good.

Twilight watched as Scootaloo and AppleWolf fought... she instinctually shot a small magic ball at AppleWolf. It hit its intended target. Twilight did it again, this time the ball was larger and it homed on AppleWolf. It also hit. "Well... I have a new attack it seems... how could I mix it with my natural magical attacks to make even more attacks..." Twilight said to herself as Scootaloo realized it was time...

"Stop attacking," Scootaloo announced as AppleWolf charged towards Scootaloo and used her uppercut... unlike what happened with Flutterbat, AppleWolf doesn't seem to hesitate but rather attack with much more force. After that there was a moment of reprive before AppleWolf shot an energy attack and dashed again and again.

Yet another moment of reprive, AppleWolf wasn't very energentic it seems. Oh well.

AppleWolf charged one more time before collapsing. Twilight approaching AppleWolf and using a spell to reduce the effects of the injected DNA.

Area: Library of Souls
Year: 1798

Scootaloo and Twilight leave the room and find no new paths unlocked in this area. Scootaloo and Twilight go to a nearby save room and save their adventure up till now.

Author's Note

Areas discovered: Library of Soul, Applejack's Room

Hybridized Ponies met: Twilight(Spellbook), Fluttershy(Giant Bat), Applejack(Werewolf)

Bosses beaten: Fabricator*, AppleWolf

*Fabricator wasn't completely defeated in story and is only considered defeated for the sequence of events to be considered "complete"

... Soooo...to those that are wondering... yes I did start playing Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door's remake and I've loved everything, I've already beaten the game and tattled every enemy in the game! Next... the recipes... I'll suffer hell... oh well...

And to those that noticed, the fact that every boss Scootaloo has fought has "dropped" a key upon being defeated then yes, you understand that there are five boss fights(That are required for story progression) while beating the Mane 6 are just required for new paths to open. Expect chapter 10 to have a major foreshadow for a future Castlevania game(Reminder if the area headings weren't working) Arcs 1 and 2 both take place in 1797.

Yes, I'll do Order of Ecclesia as the next arc

Chapter 28: Dos, Tres. What do you mean that's not right?!

Area: Master's Keep
Year: 1944

Scootaloo was sitting alone. Jonathan and Charlotte went to something called the "Nest of Evil" to train up before Brauner, Wind and Rainbow Dash were talking to themselves. Silent Night, Stella, Loretta and Sweetie Bot were conversing amongst themselves... leaving Scootaloo. Alone.

Scootaloo would've taken a nap but she also knew it wasn't going to help anything because of Blood Rush being a part of her mind, so she waited. And she waited. And she was waiting until someome arrived, not Jonathan and Charlotte, no... "Hey there everybody, guess who's here!" Fabricator said, his cloak less grey and much more bright, "Hehehehehe, HAHAHAHAHA! Oh MAN does it feel good to be in the presence of two familiar faces, eh Scootaloo and Rainbow Crash?"

"Hey! Watch what you call me!" Rainbow Dash said in annoyence.

"Chill, I was just coming by since me and Wilter were in the area. Speaking of... HEY WILTER, IN HERE!" Fabricator called out as a version of Apple Bloom with a dark wheat-esch colored coat, dark red/pink mane, and a blood red ripped and tore bow peeked through, a small little crown on its head.

"You... uh... sure that this is okay, Fabricator? I mean... I'm sure they have other things to do-" Wilter said before being interrupted.

"Wilter, do you trust me?" Fabricator said while standing in the middle of the room. Wilter took a moment to think before nodding and slowly entering the room and looking around. Scootaloo and Wilter looked each other in the eyes.

Wilter approached Scootaloo, "Hey... uh... I'm Wilted Bloom, or Wilted or Wilter... whatever you wanna call me, really. I'm... uh... the current demon lord and... uh... well... I want to assist with all my friends and the demons of Hell to help you win the battle of 1999. I will tell you, there is a difference between what I call Hell versus what you know as Hell. But regardless, I'm here to ask if you'll have me and my subjects and friends as a part of your army!" Wilter said. The demon lord was honestly really adorable in how he seemed to be a pretty anti-social pony.

"Well, we'd have to talk to princess Twilight about it but we'd love to have you, your friends, and your subjects in the fight against Dracula and Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo said, getting a wide smile and a hug from Wilter.

Fabricator and Wilter really hit it off with everyone... except for Fabricator not exactly hitting it off with Sweetie Bot, something about her programming not approving of demonic forces or whatever.

Fabricator and Wilter left nearly right as Jonathan and Charlotte came back... in their pony forms. "Woo! Nest of Evil was fun, wasn't it Charl?"

"Yes, it really was, Jonathan."

Scootaloo approached the two with her jaw dropped. Loretta wasn't as shocked, having seen their pony forms before while in the Sandy Grave, Wind, Rainbow, Stella, and Silent Night were all confused as to why two random ponies entered the room. Sweetie Bot just looked on.

"What... the... FUCK?! HOW ARE YOU TWO PONIES RIGHT NOW?! WE ARE NOT IN A PONY ZONE!!" Scootaloo said in confusion.

"They must have found the transformative spell I left behind in the Overgrown Mansion. I made the portrait and unknowingly left the spell behind so... you know... that happened. I'll tell you all this about Mental Sap since you three will be fighting him since I knew him personally," Silent Night commented with Scootaloo knowing exactly what she meant. The term "bug-fucker" exists for a reason, after all. "He despises using transforming unless it ensures victory, so never let your guard down and keep your health up. He can attempt to control your mind but will fail unless you were caught off guard or are a complete dumbass."

"I'll add in that keeping your guard up, as a pony, near somepony you trust is hard as fuck because instinct say that we're safe if we're near a pony we trust can defeat the foe, hence why I seem to look down and downplay your achievements, it's not that it isn't good, it's so I don't let my guard down."

"Yes, fighting Brauner and Mental Sap will not be easy. I know little about Brauner, so you all are on your own unless Eric Lecarde wishes to talk about Brauner," Silent Night looked to Wind, who looked a little... hesitatent to explain Brauner. Charlotte transformed into a pony and proceeded to do the cutest puppy eyes anyone in that room had seen.

Wind took a moment to take a breath before he spoke, "Okay, I don't know much about Brauner's abilities due to how fast he beat me but I do know he can create portraits that summon monsters able to inflict certain conditions upon anyone who gets hit by them. I know for certain that the green paint creates a monster that poisons you," he said as Charlotte undid the transformation to go back to being a human.

"Well, I guess we have the information we need, Jonathan, Scootaloo... you both ready?"

"Charlotte, do you even need to ask that? Of course I'm ready!"

"Yes, I'm ready as well, we have a vampire and a changeling admiral to defeat and I want to make sure they realize how bad of a mistake it is to cross me," Scootaloo said before the trio rose up and walked towards the last portrait.

They looked at each other, and nodded before they entered the portrait.

Area: Lost Gallery
Year: 1944

Brauner sighed as he heard the sound of the trio landing. Mental Sap smirked while looking at them. "So... you three arrived..." Brauner said, dejected. Brauner knew he'd lose... it was all because of that scary as hell pony. "Let's get it over with..." Brauner said again as he prepared some demonic blood-like paint.

Mental Sap had things he wanted to say though, "So you three think you can beat us? Ha! I'd say think again but I know you all are too stupid to do that, but do you think a three on two's a fair fight? Cause I'm an asshat and even I know that a three on two's unfair," Mental Sap said, "But... you don't care do ya? No... you just want this castle destroyed and you'll do anything it takes to do so," Mental Sap's horn glew in green changeling magic, "So be it."

Scootaloo and Charlotte looked at each other before nodding. Scootaloo held out a hoof as Charlotte held out a hand and when they touched, they shouted "Phlegeton" at the same time. The floors and walls started covering in fire while Jonathan just kept whipping the enemies and by the time the fire was done, Brauner just looked ready to give up. Scootaloo looked at Brauner and felt... really really damn bad. He had no chance of winning.

Scootaloo told Charlotte and Jonathan to focus on attacking Mental Sap as she went to talk to Brauner. "Brauner, look, no hard feelings, it's just that we have to destroy this castle whenever it appears. I heard your daughters died in World War I, I'm sorry to hear that. You know... you could put this life you've formed behind you and help me and my friends as we prepare for 1999," Scootaloo said whole-heartedly... but Brauner just shook his head.

"Thanks for offering but... by now I just don't want to stick around... please take your rapier and just kill me... that way I can at least see my daughters again..." Brauner said as Scootaloo nodded in understanding. She raised Fatal Wind... and pierced Brauner in the head, killing him immediately. She removed Fatal Wind from Brauner's head and wiped the blood off before turning to Mental Sap... well shit.

Jonathan and Charlotte are now unconscious. Nah, Scootaloo had prepared ahead of time. She snapped and the fakes were replaced by the real ones who immediately went after Mental Sap. "Ugh, you stupid imbeciles! You shall not stop what we have planned!" Was Mental Sap's last words before his head was pierced by Scootaloo's rapier.

"Man... this was a heavily underwhelming fight, I expected more of a fight from these guys," Jonathan said while shrugging.

"Regardless, we have one fight left. I would know because I feel that the barrier to the throne room has fallen since Brauner's death," Charlotte said as she moved to a small portrait of the Throne Room.

"One battle, three or four opponents, only one team can win," Scootaloo said tossing a bit up before it landed and twirled around, landing on tails. Scootaloo picked her bit back up as the group knew... it was time to finish this adventure.

Area: The Throne Room
Year: 1944

Scootaloo, Charlotte, and Jonathan looked up the staircase, "I sense Sweetie Belle, Death, and Dracula all up there, no Apple Bloom, funnily enough. She must be busy preparing for 1999," Scootaloo stated while smirking. Everyone here had grown a lot since the start of the journey, Scootaloo was more powerful than ever, Jonathan knew better than to effectively ram head first into situations, and Charlotte had more magic than even the church! All that was left... was one trio fight. This time... everyone had a foe.

The trio climbed the stairs which eventually revealed a throne room alright... but this one was much more "arena" like than others. Everyone the group had met on this adventure watching from the stands, and even Twilight was watching, the stakes have never been higher. Dracula was sitting in the bigger throne and had black hair instead of the white one he usually has. Sweetie Belle was sitting in the smaller throne and had a much grimmer appearence on. Her cape a deep, deep black with a blood red inside. Her coat was mostly red with black highlights. For all intents and purposes, minus the cape, Sweetie Belle and Dracula's clothes colors are inverts of the other.

"So, you all have arrived. Finally, now we can end this as we should have long ago," Dracula said as Sweetie Belle took a sip of her wine.

"And even if you refuse to listen, we still have our powers to make you listen. Now let's see the damage you can do... we have a child that refuses to accept who she really is... a boy with his brain the size of a plankton... and Scootaloo... a chicken," Sweetie Belle said that last bit in a singsong-y voice. But she didn't get the reaction she was expecting... instead of anger... they just smirked. All of them.

"Hey Charl? Scoots? Can you believe her? Thinking we're the same as we were at the start? Sure, I'm not smart but that's where Scootaloo and Charlotte come in, Charlotte uses big words I don't understand, then Scootaloo comes in and explains it in a simpler way for my brain to understand," Jonathan said as he held a good grip on Death Mercury.

"As for me, I have accepted who I am, and so as everyone else here accepted me. I may be childish sometimes but that doesn't stop me from being the smartest of the group, I'm a witch of the church for a good reason!" Charlotte said keeping a good grip on her Tome of Arms X.

"And your words hold no power over me, Belle! Yes, I was a chicken before, but a chicken would never climb to the top of this god-forsaken place just to eliminate the greatest evil known to every being in the universe! I may not be some "morning sun" or "holy body" but I will do everything in my power to banish you to the deepest pits of hell!" Scootaloo said as she grabbed Fatal Wind in her magic. Sweetie Belle listened to the words... and was at a lost for words... her ticket to victory was lost but... she still had one trick Scootaloo didn't know about.

Death flew down as Dracula and Sweetie Belle teleported into the arena. Sweetie Belle started singing an, admittingly, pleasing tune but Scootaloo attacked her before she could finish. Scootaloo got a diagnostic of the attempted trick, however. "Really Belle? A hypnosis spell?" Scootaloo said as Sweetie Belle slashed at Scootaloo's face. Scootaloo noted that the fight seemed to be seperated between all three of the heroes... until Death flew over Sweetie Belle, held out both of his hands and turned into a pony, albeit, a skeletal pony with a massive cloak, with him then firing a dark beam and Sweetie Belle who grabbed it and made it turn towards the heroes. When the attack ended, Death returned to his usual form.

Sweetie Belle and Dracula got together next and both smirked as they both turned into bats and did their own bat dashes, Dracula's going once, Sweetie Belle's going three times.

Sweetie Belle then attempted singing again but Jonathan attacked her before she could get it off. Jonathan and Charlotte then looked at each other in a smirk and got together to use "Thousand Blades!" They screamed the attack name as Charlotte used her magic to increase the speed at which Jonathan throws knives, most of which hit Sweetie Belle's head since she was facing them. Her lack of height is really a curse.

Once Death got with Dracula, a bunch of Mini-scythes spawned in a wavy shape, Scootaloo, Jonathan, and Charlotte knew they needed to destroy them and they destroyed most of them, the ones not destroyed turned into dark balls of flame which were not hard to avoid due to how many actually spawned. Jonathan used the power of Death Mercury to turn his whip into a wind whip to deal major slash damage to Dracula.

Sweetie Belle, Death, and Dracula seemed desperate, this wasn't how things were supposed to go... Scootaloo and whatever allies they had were supposed to die by now! Instead Sweetie Belle, Death, and Dracula were getting their asses handed to them on a silver FUCKING PLATTER!

Sweetie Belle teleported and slashed Jonathan with her Magic Claw. Dracula, meanwhile, was using Infernal Darkness, now collectively renamed to Dark Inferno for some reason, to attack Charlotte... but Charlotte used the Pony Morph spell to make dodging easier. Everyone who hadn't already seen the pony forms were shocked by Charlotte just turning into a light blue unicorn. Charlotte took some time to do the same spell to make Jonathan become his pegasus form, Scootaloo dashed attacked Sweetie Belle in her shock, "What's wrong Belle!? Shocked at the pony forms of Jonathan and Charlotte, or did you forget the first rule of combat?!" Scootaloo taunted, causing Sweetie Belle to get angrier, making her attacks noticibly more desperate.

Sweetie Belle fell down after one last attack from Charlotte using Raging Fire, this left Dracula and... oh, Death's down. Well Dracula's fucked. And fucked he was. He didn't last a moment, Dracula didn't even seem to want to try a second form... but he had a reputation to uphold... so... he sent Death away with the orders to "keep watch over Sweetie Belle until I return." It wasn't long before Dracula turned into a massive winged demon.

He wasn't an issue. The group left as the castle crumpled.

Area: Field
Year: 1944

Everyone, including Wind, was now outside watching to castle fall onto itself. That was it, that was 1944. Scootaloo smiled as Wind and his daughters spoke for the last time today... Silent Night was talking with Twilight, probably about 1999, while Sweetie Bot and Rainbow Dash communicate. Scootaloo was happy. Especially so when Alucard and Shanoa arrived, "What did I miss, Scoots?" Alucard asked.

Scootaloo explained everything in great big detail... well... she did leave out the mentions of Blood Rush but... it was her problem... no one else's. Alucard and Shanoa even got to meet Jonathan and Charlotte, who switched between their human and pony forms for them.

... but Scootaloo can't shake the feeling of 1999 being one castle... more. Everything is starting to feel... weird. It's like Scootaloo feels as if events aren't supposed to go this way but... what the hell is she thinking? Of course they are... they... are... right...?

Area: Chaotic Realm
Year: 1944

Dracula sat in his throne, deeply sighing. "Sweetie... could you delay the time your castle comes out to 1999? I want you to be the opener for my unwanted war, since Scootaloo, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash are most certainly already preparing for it." Sweetie Belle heard Dracula's statement... and nodded.

"Yeah, I could... probably be better that way anyways, I still have no clue what some of the guardian monsters I'll include are," Sweetie Belle said, wholeheartedly. Apple Bloom had one planned out, an alicorn from a whole city of alicorns named Opaline Arcana. Sweetie Belle knew a little about her, how she was once a friend of a young Celestia and Luna and now desired dragon fire... Sweetie Belle now realizes what Apple Bloom's plan is... "I do know one actually. See, Apple Bloom is going and sorta "recruiting" an alicorn named Opaline Arcana and is most definitely going to have her link her soul to Chaos thus allowing her technically infinite life... but Opaline will most probably be hybridized with some form of dragon monster, probably a Zombie Dragon if my intuition is correct," Sweetie Belle said.

"Then... I guess you have no issue delaying it, I need a new castle to be built before anything happens." Dracula said before looking into the distance... 1999, the year Dracula will fall... is upon everyone.

Author's Note

Bosses defeated: Brauner and Mental Sap, Dracula, Death, and Sweetie Belle

Arc 4: "A Bloody Masterpiece" COMPLETE!

Now's a good time to mention that 1999 will be four chapters, at least. Two for Castlemania, two for Castlevania.

Also... a good time to mention that... "Death is never the end for Sweetie's dark minions."